


Hide & Seek

by MegaFrost4



Series: Hide & Seek [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Domestic Avengers, F/M, M/M, Marvel Cinematic Universe - Freeform, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Superfamily (Marvel), stony au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:48:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 26
Words: 37,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28103451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegaFrost4/pseuds/MegaFrost4
Summary: "Where are we? What the hell is going on? The dust has only just begun to form..."Thanos had won. He had taken all of the Infinity Stones and wiped out half the universe. It is hard to pick up the pieces after a fallout amongst a family, but even worse when they're gone forever.
Relationships: Carol Danvers/Thor, Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Hide & Seek [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2059074
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

"Please...please..." Tony grabs onto the child, _his_ child, praying for an answer. "...I don't wanna go..." He is crying, and Tony tries to keep it together.

"Dad?" His voice a pitch too high, he is hyperventilating. He can feel it in his bones, literally.

"You're alright..." Tony assures him. _Come on, think!_

The muscles give out, they are no more. Tony drops to the ground with him, hand propping his son's head up.

"Peter? Please...I love you..."

"...I'm sorry." His eyes are cold and distant. Then he fades away...as if he were never there.

Tony falls over, barely able to catch a glimpse of his son disappearing into the wind. He looks to his hands.

"Oh..." Tony stares at the remains of his son, or what used to be his son, on his hands.

" _Tony..._ "

He looks up, seeing Doctor Stephen Strange, shaking his head sadly. "There was no other way."

He disappears as well.

Tony looks around, alone...his heart is aching. He just lost his son. His worst nightmare had come true. If only...

"He did it..." Well, he was not alone after all. "...he killed half of the universe." Nebula stated solemnly.

Anger suddenly swallowed Tony, for just a moment. "He killed him." He turned to Nebula, who hardly acknowledged him. He jumped up, pointing to his arc reactor. "He killed _my son_."

It had only been a couple years...when he officially became part of the family. It seemed like yesterday. And then the nasty divorce...with devastating repercussions. That was the longest six months of Tony and Peter's lives.

_Why did Steve leave?_

_Steve._

"Oh God..." Tony's chest tightened, tears running down his cheeks. "How do I tell him?"

"Come on...my ship is finally working." Nebula looked tired and put out, like she had to do a mundane task for the past several hours.

Tony's mind tried to catch up on the lost time he sat there thinking about Steve and...Peter...he lost track of time.

_Time._

"Why'd you do it?" Tony asks Strange again...why save him to kill everyone else? His son is dead now...

If only he had the Time Stone.

Tony would fix everything... _everything_.

* * *

The flight back to Earth was silent, save for a few moments of hysterical sobbing and mumbling from Tony. Nebula just let him be. There was nothing she could say from the bottom of her artificial heart that could make him feel better. She was kinda surprised to see a father whose adopted son was killed, and he did not seem like the type to torture him nor turn into a giant planet god out for universal annihilation. Had she have known this man, she almost would have wished he was her father, not this tyrant who destroys everything in his path...and every part of her.

Once they breached the atmosphere, Tony took a deep breath.

" _Welcome back, Sir_."

"Thanks, Friday..." Tony laughed. "It's good to hear your voice again...um..." Tony never thought he would be asking this question under these circumstances, but nothing else mattered to him.

"Where is he?"

" _Calculating Captain Rogers' coordinates_..." Friday pulled up a screen in Tony's glasses of a map. "... _Whereabouts located. Outside of the hidden country of Wakanda in Africa._ "

What was he doing way over... _oh no_...

Tony's eyes widened at the sight underneath them as the ship flew over the jungles on the outskirts of Wakanda. So many dead soldiers and monsters Tony could only imagine from sci-fi movies he and Peter used to love to watch and...

"Prepare for a rough landing...I couldn't get the stabilizers to _ugh_..." Nebula groaned as her ship crashed into a tree. Immediately, they were greeted by none other than Bruce Banner.

"Tony?! Oh, thank God!" Bruce ran to the side of the ship as Tony managed to struggle out of his seat. He was scared. Bruce looked bad...

"Bruce?" Tony looked around, grabbing his friend's shoulder to make sure he did not turn to dust at his touch. "What happened here?"

"Thanos sent an army...Tony...he got to Vision...I'm so sorry...we tried..." Tony realized suddenly he was standing before his old team.

Natasha, her blonde hair a surprise, but what scared Tony was the terrified and confused look on her face.

Rhodey, worn out and defeated.

Thor, hair gone, eye discolored, and _no hammer_? He must have been through a lot.

And...

Everyone noticeably gave them space, not sure what to expect...especially after what happened in Siberia...

Tony did not know what to say. Everything he thought about on the ride home disappeared, because there he was...

There was Steve. He looked tired, and confused. But he was here...in the flesh, holding his rib cage...

Steve's eyes shot to Tony's abdomen, the blood stain on his jacket dark and dominant. Tony's fingers were shaking, covered in dust.

He walked slowly up to Tony, who looked scared, like he had done something wrong. But he wanted to put all of that aside. He wanted Tony to call him. He wanted to make up. He wanted to apologize. He wanted to kiss him. He wanted to protect him and...

_Where is Peter?!_

Tony saw Steve's eyes searching, and he started crying. "Steve..." He held his hands, palms up to show his innocence. "...I...I'm so sorry..." His breathing was shaky, the wedding ring shining in the afternoon sun. "Steve?"

Steve grabbed his hands, briefly glanced at them, and pulled his husband in close.

"Tony? Are you ok?" He whispered into his ear.

Tony shook his head. "Steve..."

"Shhh...it's ok. I am so sorry..." There was a pause, and Tony felt his shoulder become damp with more tears...again. "Tony, I love you so much. I was such an idiot, I-"

"It's Peter." Tony buried his head into the nape of Steve's neck. Then he pulled himself up straight, and stared Steve in the face. "He...he killed Peter." Tears flooded down from Tony's hurt eyes.

Steve shook his head. "No... _no...please_..." Tony bowed his head, his whole body shaking. Steve sunk to his knees, Tony following suit. "Oh, God, Peter...but... _why?_ Tony, he... _what happened?_ "

"I don't know, babe." Tony shook his head. "He was hurting...he felt it coming...I don't know what it was, but it was hurting him. He was so scared. I couldn't stop it...I couldn't fix it, I couldn't-"

"This was _not_ your fault..." Steve's hands gently held his face. "Tony, you did nothing wrong. I am sure you did all you could..."

"He just disappeared from my hands..." Tony showed Steve his hands, this time Steve is able to see the dust of their son. "I held him...and he...he _died_ in my arms."

Steve hugged Tony tight, stroking soothing circles on his back, wincing at the huge gash on his back. Tony winced too at the sharp pain from the stab that had happened only hours ago...

"Bruce!" Steve looked to Tony again, who was starting to drift out of consciousness. "Somebody get Shuri! Tony's been stabbed! Please!"

They helped Tony back to the palace, where he was immediately treated with what little of the kingdom of Wakanda remained. Steve let out a sigh of relief, knowing he was in good hands. But then his mind wandered back to what he had just learned.

Peter.

His son.

Dead.

And he could not stop him. Steve had fought many foes...never one this big, and so strong. He held his own for a split second, the gauntlet he remembered pressing into his head. Steve tried and pushed as hard as his already winded body could do.

With one punch, he was out.

How pathetic...

Steve excused himself, once Tony was fully bandaged up and given the medicine and proper treatment needed to recover. He looked out on the balcony at the aftermath of their great battle that had abruptly ended. They fought so hard, so many lives lost, but it was all for nothing.

In the end, _he_ had won.

Steve vowed right then and there that Thanos would pay for what he did to his friends, his fellow soldiers.

But Steve would kill him himself with his bare hands for touching his husband...

...and killing his son...


	2. Chapter 2

**_Six Years Earlier..._ **

"Anyone ever try schwarma? I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it..."

Steve laughed and held out a hand to Tony.

Tony hesitated for a second, still trying to shake the feeling of coming back from...well, outer space...then gratefully grabbed a hold of the Captain's strong grip. He immediately ejected out of the suit.

"JARVIS, take five...I, oh! The suit's dead...uh..." Tony lost his train of thought, staring into those puppy dog eyes.

"Tony? Are you OK?" Steve asked again, a little worried.

Tony came to, seeing Natasha raise a knowing eyebrow, Clint smirking right next to her.

"Uh, yeah, the Big Guy over here made sure to uh, scare me back to life, so yeah...n-never been better." Tony looked around to see everybody beat, literally.

It had been a long day.

"What is this _schwarma_ you speak of again?" Thor came up to Tony, putting his hand gently on his shoulder. "I would like to aid you in your quest of discovering this unique-sounding nourishment."

"Just a couple blocks that way." Tony threw his thumb over his shoulder.

"Well, I for one, could use something." Bruce came into the picture, who was struggling to keep his stretched clothes on. "But, uh..." He looked around embarrassed. "Nobody happens to have a change of clothes anywhere, huh?"

"Allow me, Banner!" Thor ripped his bright red cape off and threw it around Bruce's tiny shoulders. He continued to wrap it around him until Bruce could barely move his arms.

"That's...very sweet of you, Thor... _thanks_." Bruce eyed Tony, who was about to say something inappropriate and snarky.

"Let's just go, I'm hungry too!" Clint whined.

Natasha cleared her throat as the men started to leave. They all turned around, confused, some worried they had offended her.

"What about him?" Natasha jerked her head up towards Stark Tower.

"Ooooooohhhh...riiiiiiiiiight...the invasion and what not..." Tony rolled his eyes, mumbling to himself how annoying it was to be a superhero when all he wanted to do was to get something to eat. "Let's get Rock of Ages and get this over with."

They found Loki crawling, well, more like _dragging_ his aching body across the floor from a crevice. The God of Mischief moaned, and was very calculating and careful with each movement, clearly in severe pain. Nobody said anything. Even when he turned around, not the least bit worried as to what had happened that day.

"If it's all the same to you...I'll have that drink." Loki looked innocently at Tony, who could barely keep himself from showing a little smile. He was almost ready to say yes...

"Brother..." Thor knelt down on eye level with Loki. "Was all of this necessary?" He had tears in his eyes. "You listen to me right now: I want _the truth_. _No_ more lies. _No_ more tricks. What was-"

"It wasn't me..." Loki whispered, his now natural green eyes looking down at the torn floor.

Thor noticed. "No...it wasn't..." Thor put his hand behind Loki's neck, a sign of affection that gave him no choice but to pay attention to his stronger brother.

"Answer me this: who is really responsible for all of this?"

"Uh, _Loki_." Thor turned around to Clint, who looked put out having to deal with this brotherly moment. "He brainwashed me, made me kill people, led the attack of stupid aliens on hoverboards that we spent the whole afternoon stopping. AND he is prolonging my time with _food_ and a _hot shower_...AND-"

" _And_ , we will see you at the restaurant. Should'nt be too hard to find. You two have a lot to catch up on." Natasha pulled Clint by the arm, the others following her to the surprisingly still working elevator.

Tony could not help but notice how tired Steve was. He had not said one word since schwarma was mentioned. Not even when Tony asked him what he wanted to have. Steve just shook his head, not really caring. He looked like he was about to pass out, he was so tired.

And he almost did...

Everyone was silently eating, even when Thor and Loki showed up. Loki just sat in the corner looking pissed he had to be dragged out here to some Midgardian food place when he could be at home...facing Odin...this suddenly seemed like the lesser of two evils. Thor immediately dove into the schwarma, careful to remember his manners Jane had taught him by asking politely for more instead of throwing it on the ground.

It tends to make a mess.

Tony was off in space, his mind literally trying to grasp the basic idea of what happened today: Aliens are real, he is sitting in a restaurant with two gods, two assassins, a giant green rage monster, and a man whom his dad (and he himself) idolized and thought was dead for about 65 years, and there was this huge, emanating threat that he could not picture, but knew was coming. Would they be ready for it? What, or _who_ , was it?

He was brought back by a bang that made him almost jump out of his skin. He turned to see Steve wiping schwarma off his face, looking like he had just woken up. Thor politely handed Steve some napkins.

"Thanks," Steve blushed, clearly not liking the extra attention.

"Wanna get some fresh air?" Tony asked him out of the blue. _Where did that come from?_

"Uh, sure. Yeah. Excuse me." Steve pushed his chair in and followed Tony out of the restaurant.

Clint made a bet with Natasha, who replied it was too soon...

* * *

The fresh air did some good.

"You alright there, Cap?" Tony asked. "You've been really quiet since, well, since I fell through a wormhole from outer space." Tony smiled.

"I'm fine." Steve lied. Tony could tell, so Steve continued. "I'm just...really tired is all..."

Tony could also tell Steve was showing his left side some favor, but did not want to crush his ego as CAPTAIN AMERICA, and decided to change the subject.

"I've been thinking about us..." Tony cursed himself and quickly reframed. "...about the Avengers."

Steve nodded. "We could do a lot of good, help a lot of people."

"Yeah, well, maybe next time I can work on damage control."

"Tony, I..." Steve paused. "What I said earlier today, I didn't mean to-"

"Nah, don't worry about it. That was just our egos colliding." Tony dismissed it like it never happened. "And for the record, you already had the special. The bottle, just enhanced it."

"I guess I'll take that as a compliment..." Steve thought about it for a second as Tony laughed.

"I'm serious. I was being a total douchebag, when you had literally just woken up from a 65 year nap. I was a big fan of you growing up. You were all Dad ever talked about. I started thinking he would've preferred you as a son."

"Stop it, Tony." Steve laughed. "Howard and I weren't that close." It faded as it had just dawned on him. "How is he?"

Tony knew this had to come up one way or another...he just did not want it to be today of all days. But, here we are.

"Mom and Dad were killed in a car wreck years ago." Tony stated plainly.

Steve nodded. "I'm sorry...I just...still trying to process everything, you know?"

"Me and you both, pal." Tony held out his hand. "Here's to a new beginning."

Steve liked that. The idea of starting this team of individuals who could make a difference, who would be there to defend the Earth from whatever comes next.

"To new beginnings!" Thor raised his glass of coffee as everyone met Steve and Tony outside the schwarma joint.

Clint yawned. With a full stomach, he just wanted to go to bed. "I'm calling it a night. See ya next year, hopefully. Stupid aliens." Clint murmured as he started to wander off.

"Where do you think you're going, Legolas?" Tony called out. Everyone's attention went to Tony. They were tired, and wanted to go... _home?_ No, back to HQ. Not looking forward to the paperwork. "The Avengers Hotel is now open for business!" Tony pointed up to Stark Tower, which could not be seen from where they were standing, but still.

"Oh, Tony, you don't have to open up your home for us..." Steve politely declined.

"You woke up in a makeshift hospital bed on a TV set in a warehouse in the middle of Times Square. There's _no way_ I'm letting you sleep like that. Besides, I'm a billionaire. Avengers Tower has tons of floors...I've already sent JARVIS some ideas to renovate each floor for well, each of you. If we're going to be a team, we need to do all of the ice breaker games and campfire songs that come into play. I _know_ how to have fun. Fury will just send you to a cot with a bunch of other whiney agents whose names you will never remember."

Everyone stared, dumbfounded.

"Come on! We'll be one big, happy, and clearly dysfunctional family in no time!"

"Metal Man, you are too kind! My brother and I accept your hospitality!" Loki did not seem too pleased, but begrudgingly went nonetheless.

"Bruce, don't look at me like that, every floor and room is sound proof...for reasons I will not disclose to children. JARVIS can put up some nice Rogers & Hammerstein so you can rest your weary little head about any episodes." Tony assured everyone it was the best option. Neither Avenger found any reason to object. Even as they went up to the main community area, fully stocked kitchen and lounge with a huge 85" TV to boot, Tony went on and on about the amenities, best security with JARVIS, and assured privacy for each and every member.

"Or, you know, if you allow me to play matchmaker, every bedroom has a king-sized bed." Tony regretted raising his eyebrows to Natasha. If looks could kill...

"Tony..." Steve stopped Tony in his tracks, as he was escaping to the lab to work on a new suit. Steve looked around to everyone. "We just want to thank you for your hospitality, and whatever you need from us, we can all pitch in-"

"I appreciate the charity, Rogers, I'm getting on that real quick, cause no offense, you are in _desparate_ need of a makeover, which reminds me, JARVIS?"

" _Yes, Sir?_ "

"Add clothes shopping for Steve and the two Shakespeare cosplays, would ya?"

" _Of course, Sir._ "

"By the way, say hi to the new kids, JARVIS."

" _Welcome, Avengers, to your new home. I hope you will find it comfortable_."

"JARVIS can literally give you anything. You name it. Seriously, he's the best nanny in the world. Rest up kids!" Tony ran off to the lab, leaving everyone dumbfounded as to what to do next.

"That was fast." Bruce broke the awkward silence.

"Yeah, one minute I'm fighting aliens, then the next minute I got adopted by a billionaire...cool!" Clint, pleased with how the day finally ended, passed out on the couch. Everyone found a chair or couch to curl up on, and went to sleep.

It was the best and most peaceful sleep either one of them had had in years.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A few months later...** _

Life in the Tower was anything but ordinary. Never a dull moment with the craziest roommates imaginable.

But Tony accepted the company. Despite his public image, he could be a little difficult to get along with, but with this new team they had just formed out of the blue, he was starting to enjoy it.

Maybe a little too much.

"Ok, Katniss, get out of the stupid vents, the guys are almost done with your room!" Tony rolled his eyes as Clint exited the ceiling in a not-so graceful way.

Last night was a party, to say the least, what with Thor and Loki leaving for Asgard for a while. Clint, thinking he could handle 1000 year old ale, pushed himself way past the limit.

"Ow..." Clint groaned on the floor, feeling nauseous and sore. "I should not have tried to arm wrestle Thor."

"Well, life is full of regrets. Trust me." Tony did not glance up from his tablet as he stepped over Clint's body.

But he did stare when Steve came through the room, clearly having just finished working out. The super soldier was drenched in sweat, his gray Under Armor shirt hugging every muscle on his broad shoulders and thin torso.

"Hey guys..." Steve greeted them as he washed his hands and face, getting ready to make some breakfast.

Clint whistled, not to Steve, but to Natasha, with not a hair out of place.

"Hey, hot stuff." Natasha pecked Clint on the lips, who turned to putty when she walked off.

Tony could not fathom how Clint Barton, the goofiest smart-ass in the world [and that's saying something, since he was always a smart-ass] could capture the heart of one of the hottest and most badass women he has every gotten the pleasure of knowing. They were very entertaining to watch.

As she helped Steve prepare breakfast, Bruce quietly entered the kitchen, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Good morning, everyone."

"Morning, Bruce." Steve politely replied.

"How's the room?" Tony asked, making Bruce blush. He did not like all of the attention on himself.

"Quiet as a mouse. I prefer the ocean over the rainforest, though. Sometimes the animal noises and thunder makes me a little nervous."

Poor Bruce was a light sleeper, and Tony, not wanting to have too many episodes with the Other Guy, made a promise to help him with whatever he needs to sleep peacefully through the night.

"JARVIS?"

" _Sir, I have already changed the settings to Doctor Banner's room to the peaceful sound of waves on a quiet night. No surprises whatsoever_."

"Thanks, Buddy."

Bruce sighed as he put his coffee down. "Tony, thank-you so much. I haven't gotten this much sleep in a long time. I-"

"Let's leave the romantics out of it." Tony winked. "Anything for my teammates."

"Well, I'm just glad there's no army of aliens attacking the city. These past few months have been nice." Bruce recalled. It was nice having a secure place to live with a warm bed and people he could trust.

* * *

Later that day, Natasha got a call from Fury, saying she and Clint were needed on a top secret mission in an unknown to the public location, and Bruce was needed at SHIELD HQ for a debriefing on a new scientific breakthrough he was leading.

That left only Tony and Steve.

And for some reason, that made Tony a bit uncomfortable.

These past few months have been hard for him. Not only getting used to having people running around the Tower, but Steve...well...

"Well, Cap, I guess it's just you and me." Tony stated as casually as possible after everyone left.

"Yeah..." Steve paused, looking at his shoes. "I'm going to-"

"I think I love you." Tony blurted out with no thought whatsoever.

Steve did not know how to react. Even he had started to notice Tony giving him more attention than the others. How Tony would always make sure to include him in every conversation he was having. How any time Fury needed the two of them for a press conference, Tony would find ways to extend their time together by going to see a movie or walking around Central Park. Heck, Tony would even offer to get up early some mornings and Steve would jog alongside Tony and just enjoy the company.

"Me?" Steve finally responded. He blushed, clearly unsure of what to say. "Tony-"

"Before you say anything." Tony held up a hand to stop him. "I know I can be a jerk, and I have the reputation of being a playboy, but this is different." He shook his head. "I can't sleep...I'm a piping hot mess. But with you...I want to be better. You make me want to be more." Tony walked slowly towards him. "Steve?"

"Is it too old-fashioned to say that I've kinda had a crush on you since I first saw you in the suit? When you saved my life in Germany?" Steve's face was getting redder. He laughed. "Tony...I love you, too."

Tony could not stop himself. The tension over the past few months have been too much to bear. He pulled Steve into a kiss, a careful one, as if he was unsure how far to go. But when Steve opened up wider, Tony took the invitation and inserted his tongue into the man's mouth.

Pulling back for air, Steve looked at Tony with those puppy dog eyes that made Tony fall head over heals. He brushed Tony's wild hair. Tony closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

"I was so afraid you would say no." Tony confessed, kissing Steve's hand. "I thought, since well, being-"

"Old-fashioned?" Steve sighed. "These days are much different...I'm learning to just be myself, throw caution to the wind. That's one thing I've always admired about you." He pulled Tony into another gentle kiss. "You are my number one. You make me feel safe in this strange new world I've been thrown into."

" _God_ , you are so cliche..." Tony laughed. "I love it!" He kissed Steve again. "So now that we're being open and honest here, I might as well tell you, I think Natasha and Clint already know."

Steve froze. "They do?"

"Yeeeeeeah...JARVIS just sent me a text saying that they breeched his security cameras again...and here I thought living with spies would be cool."

"Well, I've got nothing to hide. I love you, Tony."

Tony replayed those words in his head, finding it hard to believe it was real. "I love you too, Steve."

* * *

Next week when everyone came home, no one was shocked in the least that Tony and Steve were basically a couple now.

" _Are you serious?_ " Tony whined. "Am I _that_ obvious?"

"All you two do is gaze into each other's eyes." Natasha smirked. "When you think no one else is looking."

Steve was beyond embarrassed, while Tony was just trying to figure out how he got so lucky to not only get the man of his dreams, but also have the smartest and slyest group of people on his side.

He was one lucky man.

* * *

Steve woke up to another nightmare, one that he could not shake. So he decided to wander the halls of the Tower. Things looked so much more different at night. He heard the faintest of noise, so he decided to investigate.

He found himself coming up to the lab where Tony spends most of his time. A handprint scanner was next to the door. Steve thought it would not hurt to try, and was surprised it lit up green with his name popping up. The door unlocked, and he entered.

And he thought the helicarrier was impressive.

He owes Fury $10.

The lab was spacious, with lots of equipment and tools of such thrown everywhere. There was no method to the madness, and computer screens and holograms were showing so many numbers and letters, Steve was almost sure it was an entirely new language.

"Tony?" Steve called out. He could barely hear himself think over the music. The blaring rock was almost too much. But Steve was polar opposite of Tony, the scientist. The engineer. Steve was an artist, who preferred drawing and reading. There were so many books that he had wanted to read, but now the list tripled since he has been under for so long. And-

"Tony?!" Steve was worried, seeing Tony on all fours in a suit that was falling apart all over him.

Tony turned, scared out of his mind. "Cut the music, JARVIS."

Silence echoed.

"Steve? Are you ok? What are you doing down here?" Tony struggled to get out of the suit.

"Here, let me help." Steve helped Tony out, and Tony let out a wave of raspy breaths.

He was shaking.

"Tony? Look at me. Tony?" Steve crawled onto the floor, making eye contact with Tony. "I'm right here. Tony, it's ok. I'm right here."

Tony refocused his vision for a second, before blinking rapidly and staring at Steve. "Steve, are you ok?"

"Tony, I'm fine. You are safe. I am right here with you." Steve gently put his hand on Tony's. "I'm right here."

Tony worked on his breathing, closing his eyes, meditating for a minute. Steve waited patiently.

"Woo! Sorry...I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Had a moment, there." Tony shivered and clapped his hands together. "JARVIS?"

" _Heartrate is normalizing, Sir. Nothing to be concerned with. Perhaps we shall take the rest of the night off?_ "

"Yeah, sounds good. Night Buddy."

" _Goodnight, Sir_."

"Come on, let's get you some water." Steve helped Tony up slowly and led him to the kitchen. After a couple of minutes, Tony was perfectly fine.

"Steve..."

Steve looked up from his fingers, coming back to the present.

"It's three o'clock in the morning. You don't get up till five. What's wrong?"

"I'm fine, Tony." Steve thought back to earlier. "Just had another nightmare..." Tears welled up in his eyes.

"Hey, hey, it's ok. You're fine. What is it that's got you so upset?" Tony soothed. _Who knew we would both have mental breakdowns on the exact same night?_

It took Steve a second to respond, which felt like an eternity to Tony.

"It felt so real...I thought I had lost you. I know it hasn't even been a year since the Battle of New York, but I keep having this sinking feeling that something worse is coming...and in my dream...it did. But I couldn't understand it. I didn't know what it was. I was alone..."

"I'm right here." Tony reassured him.

They had come up with this saying with each other a while back when they both realized each of them had some PTSD. Being heroes is no easy job. And it can leave invisible scars that are hard to heal. But together, they can overcome anything.

Steve took Tony's hand and kissed it. "I know."


	4. Chapter 4

It had not been a few weeks later when _he_ stumbled into their lives...

Another empty weekend graced the Avengers, and they each decided to break off and do their own thing.

Which did not hurt Tony's feelings at all. He could spend more time with Steve. And going to the park was one of Steve's favorite things, so it became one of _Tony's_ favorite things. Walking around, Tony could not help but keep looking over his shoulder. Steve assured him that JARVIS was always on the lookout, being the smartest in the group. Well...

"You do realize that _I_ created him, right? That automatically makes me smarter." Tony showed huge mock offense in his expression, luckily something Steve had learned...be as sarcastic as possible and do not take things too seriously around the rambunctious billionaire.

"I guess you're right." Steve slung an arm around Tony, who rested his head on the strong shoulder.

Tony's eyes cut to the pond, where he noticed a little boy with a styrofoam cup gathering some water. He stared at it for a minute, looked nervously around and ran into the bushes.

"Steve?" Tony stepped away.

"What is it?" Steve immediately tensed up.

"A kid just took a drink from the water right there." Tony had a horrible feeling that this kid was an orphan, and hated the very nature of their life. No family...no one to talk to or to look after them. Tony never spent much time with his family, unfortunately, and he had no siblings, so he was alone. Except for Rhodey, he had no real friends either. And his heart ached for this kid.

Steve ran over to a cart full of ice cold drinks and bought a couple water bottles, handing one to Tony. "Come on."

Tony noticed some shuffling in the bushes, and quietly peeked around to find the boy examining the water and pouring it into a homemade filter. Smart kid. Tony could not help but admire him.

"It's really hot out here, isn't it?" Tony casually asked the boy.

Two little eyes shot up in fear.

Tony held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, hey...it's ok. I'm not gonna hurt you. We were just wondering..." Tony motioned for Steve to kneel down beside him. "...if you wanted to join us on that park bench right over there and have some water. I'm parched!" Tony laughed.

The boy looked nervous, but was eyeing the water greedily.

"Come on, son." Steve smiled. "I know you must be so thirsty." He held out his hand, and the boy's gaze shifted to the outstretched palm. Slowly, he crept out from behind the bushes, but did not take Steve's hand. He walked right past them to the bench.

Tony looked at Steve, and they followed him, sitting on the ground so they were not crowding him.

"Here, I have an extra one." Steve offered up the ice cold water. The boy took it gingerly, as if it was made of glass.

"Thank-you..." It was barely above a mumble, but the two men smiled.

Tony took a swig the same time the boy started to drink the water. "Wow! That hits the spot. I'm Tony, by the way, and this is Steve."

"I know..." The boy blushed. "You're Iron Man, and you're Captain America." A smile started to break across his little face.

"Yeah, that's right." Tony laughed quietly. Even a kid could recognize the Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes. "What's your name?"

"I'm Peter..." Peter could not help but smile.

"It's very nice to meet you, Peter." Steve said.

Peter nodded, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumbled piece of paper. It was a newspaper article, and when he unfolded it, it was of the Avengers at a press conference after the Battle of New York.

"Um...can..." Peter took a deep breath, very nervous. "Can I have your autograph?" Another blush rose in his cheeks.

"Of course, you can." Steve looked to Tony, who cursed himself for not having a pen with him. He asked a woman walking by if she had one in her purse. Of course she did.

Steve kept staring at Tony, mentally telling him that they had to do something.

"I know what you're thinking, but I'm _not_ going back to the orphanage." Peter was getting upset. "They're very mean there, and I just want my Aunt May back..."

A little piece of newspaper dropped from the back of the one they had signed, and Peter quickly picked it up. Tony could not help but see that it was an obituary.

"Oh, Peter. I am so sorry." Tony wanted to pull the kid into a hug, but did not want to scare him.

"I miss her a lot, but if it weren't for you, I would have an obituary too."

Steve almost cried at that moment. He took Peter's hand. "What do you mean, Peter?"

"When the monsters came, they tore up our apartment, but then Iron Man came and shot them before they could get to me. You saved my life, Iron Man."

Tony made up his mind right then and there what he was going to do.

"Hey!" Tony sniffed, trying to keep it together. "Do you want to get all of the other Avengers to sign your newspaper?"

Steve looked over surprised, not because he did not want to help the kid, but what would the orphanage think?

"Really?" That made Peter perk up. "Even the Hulk?!"

"Even the Hulk!"

"Yeah!" Peter held his newspaper tight as he followed Tony and Steve to the car, where Happy was waiting for them, licking an ice cream cone.

"Come on Cinderella, we're gonna be late for the ball, or am I bothering you?" Tony teased.

Happy rolled his eyes and then noticed the kid, covered in dirt from head to toe. "Who's the kid?"

"I'm Peter. Nice to meet you, Happy." Peter held out a hand, Happy dumbfounded.

"Welcome to the Big Leagues, Happy." Tony patted him on the shoulder and sat down in the car.

When they arrived at the Avengers Tower, Peter seemed to have opened up more. He felt safe with his heroes.

"So, I saw on the news that this guy with his cell phone filmed you shooting your beams to Captain America's shield and shooting up into the air! It was so cool! And then the Hulk smashing everything. You guys are the coolest!"

Peter stopped and gaped at the huge building in front of him. "Avengers Tower..."

"The one and only...welcome home, kid." Tony was stopped by Steve as Happy led Peter inside.

"Tony, what about the orphanage?"

"Well, clearly he's been on his own for a while, and they haven't even bothered to look for him, much less have enough time to find his paperwork and whatnot after the Chitauri, so I say fuck them."

"Language, Tony."

Tony eyed him. "Did you just say, ' _language_ '?"

"I don't like that kind of talk, especially around kids."

"Right ok, well, I'll go to the adoption agency tomorrow and we'll get it all squared away."

"Tony, this is a big step. I mean, we just started dating after saving the world, and we're still trying to figure out all of this stuff with the Avengers, and you have your company-"

"Pepper's in charge of all of that now."

"I'm just saying, adopting a kid is a big responsibility."

"He needs a family. Look, I know this is kind of out of the blue, but I want to give him a chance. Give him a better life. You heard what he said. Those bastards killed the only family he had left. And guess who fought them? _We did_. Guess who caused all that damage. _We did_. Guess who has to help rebuild? _We did_. Well, _I_ did. Y'all are broke."

Steve thought about it, and Tony was right.

"Besides, there's not going to be an alien invasion every Tuesday and a criminal mastermind causing chaos every Saturday. The thing is, we can do this, you and me. He needs us. If someone was going to adopt him, they would have already."

* * *

A week later, Peter Benjamin Stark officially became a part of the family. The weird, crazy, unrelated family of the Avengers. And Tony Stark was his father.

Well, on paper.

"Mr. Stark, what's this?"

Tony looked up from the computer in the lab and saw Peter pointing to one of his prototypes.

"Just something I started working on, but doesn't work anymore. And Peter?" Peter looked at him with big eyes. "I've told you, you can call me Tony."

"Right, sorry." Peter smiled and went back to his homework. Steve made it a priority that Peter catch up with school, and Tony offered to homeschool, with JARVIS as his instructor. He did not feel comfortable putting Peter in school. He was scared something would happen to him. One look at his name and then all sorts of trouble could come up, being a relative of the infamous Stark's who had more enemies than friends.

"You're alright." Tony went back to his work. Peter spent a lot of his time down in the lab with Tony, who noticed he had the same passion as Tony when it came to science.

Yeah, Tony had made the right decision.

* * *

"Are you busy?"

Steve could not help but jump a little at the sudden noise in the empty gym. He turned to see Peter.

"Not at all. Is there something you wanted to talk about?" He chugged some water, and unwrapped his knuckles and wrists.

Peter looked around the gym. "Well, I've noticed that there's been some things online said about you and the others that does not make sense."

Steve sighed. This was why he did not like the Internet that much. Sure, it could help answer millions of questions, and there was email, online shopping, even education. But it was not perfect.

"Look, Peter, not everyone agrees on things. People have different opinions, they come from different backgrounds, and sometimes they were not taught any good manners. You can't let them get to you. The Avengers...we're fine. We will always do our best to be there to save the day. And we will always protect you. Don't ever let those bullies get to you. Sometimes people say things they don't mean. Sometimes they only want some attention."

"Yeah, I mean, what you and Dad do are great..."

Steve wished with all his heart Tony was here to hear that word. That one thing he could tell Tony really wanted ever since they found Peter in the park. That word that meant he really trusted them. That he loved them.

Steve did not hear any of what else Peter was saying. Lost in his thoughts, he emerged when he heard the door to the gym slam open.

JARVIS must have told him.

Tony looked white as a sheet. He was shaking a little, knocking over a rack of weights.

"Tony, Honey? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm...I'm fine. Just _fine_. Uh...hey, Peter? Uh, wanna do some sparring with the old man and me?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah! That'd be great! Be right back!" As he ran off to change, Steve went over to Tony.

"Tony?"

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "Did he just say what I think he just said?"

Steve rubbed the man's shoulders up and down. "Yes! Yes, Tony, he did!" Steve was so happy for his boyfriend. He knew he and Peter had grown close this past year, but there was something special about Tony and Peter's relationship. They were more alike than he could have ever imagined. And it made him so happy that they were such a close family.

* * *

When Peter was fifteen, things went crazy. They begrudgingly decided to let him go to the best high school in the state of New York, focusing on STEM so Peter can push himself academically. While Tony argued he and JARVIS could do that, Steve believed being around other kids his age was important so he can work on his socializing, unlike the two of them who neither one had many friends growing up.

Peter loved every minute of school. He joined the decathlon team, was making straight As in all of his classes, and even made a best friend, Ned. Tony and Steve were so proud of him.

The other Avengers became close with Peter, too.

Natasha was now dubbed Aunt Nat, which she would never admit how much she adored that. She loved her little nephew. And Uncle Clint was a shoe-in...although Tony would not stop harrassing Clint about being a bad influence on his kid. Nonetheless, the two assassins helped Peter with sparring and sneaking around undetected. One can never be too careful.

Bruce always enjoyed Peter coming to visit him in his personal lab at the Tower, although he worked on much different things from Tony. He thought it was less cool, but was surprised when Peter found it just as interesting and could understand most everything he had written about.

Thor and Loki seemed to have adopted Peter unofficially. Although he was never allowed to go visit Asgard, or any of the other Nine Realms for that matter, they decided to do adventures within the city limits. And any time the three of them hit the town, it was never a quiet, peaceful night. Sometimes they would end up in the news the following Monday morning after a crazy night at a bar. Loki regrets never taking the time to put a forgetting spell over the Midgardians so they could not get into trouble. Even the God of Mischief had a soft spot for the teenager.

As a teenager, Peter had friends, a cellphone, school, but still found time to spend with his family, especially his dads.

Yes, Dads.

Steve Rogers had asked Tony Stark to marry him last year, and with Peter as their ring bearer and Thor as their Best Man, it was the happiest day of their lives, as their family got a little closer.

Steve could not have been happier that he could officially spend the rest of his life with the man he loves and his son, Peter Rogers-Stark. Things could not get any better.

And it did _not_.

* * *

Peter came home late one night, and since he had not answered anybody's text, he knew he was in deep trouble. But he could not help that some dudes dressed up as the Avengers were robbing an ATM. He had to stop them.

Honestly, it was shocking he had kept this secret of him being Spider-Man for this long. He had even helped the Avengers out on a couple of missions. It was sheer luck that nobody suspected him. He knew if he opened his mouth that even through the mask, anybody could put two and two together. He did not want anybody to worry. He had a responsibility.

Peter scaled the walls as quickly and quietly as possible, scared to death of getting caught. Entering his room, it was pitch dark, and he threw his backpack onto the bed and crashed. It was almost 3 AM. He had "gone to hang out with Ned" about eight hours ago.

The lights came on, and Peter almost had a heart attack.

Tony and Steve were standing there with their arms crossed and boy, if looks could kill.

"Um...I was just, uh..." Peter gave up. He looked at the mask on the floor.

"Well, I'm glad to know that the suit I made for the mysterious vigilante fits my son as well." Tony was barely keeping it together.

"Peter, do you realize you are risking your life out there? There are _bad_ people in this world. People that want to hurt you because of who you are. I-"

"But Pops! I can take care of myself! What do you think all that training was for for all those years? Huh? I mean, _look_!" Peter jumped on top of the ceiling and slid down a string of web, facing them. "I can take care of myself!"

"Get down from there _right now_." Tony spoke a little too quietly. "You listen to me."

Peter jumped down and sat on the bed, dejected.

"The last thing we want is for you to get hurt, Peter." Steve interrupted. "We love you and want you to be safe. If anything happened to you..."

"Yeah, but I'm not dealing with the big bad boogie man! I'm just dealing with car thieves and bank robbers."

"Who have _guns_!" Tony yelled. "I don't want to have to find you in an alleyway cut to pieces! How am I supposed to fix that? I _can't_!"

"Dad! I have healing powers!"

"How do you know?"

"I...I was fighting a gang in an alley, and well...it was just a little knife..."

"I thought you fell down the stairs at school." Steve was horrified.

"Yeah, but I was fine within a week. These powers really come in handy. That spider-"

" _What spider?_ " Tony asked. "You got _bit?_ And you didn't tell anybody? Peter, what if you had ended up in the hospital?"

"Dad, it's fine! I just had that little fever for a couple of days."

"Now everything is starting to make sense." Tony was starting to figure it all out.

"Peter, listen to me." Steve was thinking. "I have been following this Spider-Man with your father, and I have to say you have done a lot of good."

" _Steve?!_ "

" _But_..." Steve took Tony's hand and squeezed. "You will not go alone anymore."

Peter had no words.

"There will be no more running around in the middle of the night. You still have school to focus on. You will always be accompanied by one of us. Me, your Dad, Aunt Nat. You _will not_ go alone anywhere, do you understand me?"

"Yes sir..."

"Oh, and you're grounded for a month." Tony stated. "Or at least until I can come up with a better suit, one that is bullet proof, but still flexible..."

"Wait, you're saying I can still be Spider-Man?" Peter hoped.

"Not until I say so!" Tony demanded. He took a deep breath, coming to tears. "Peter, I love you so much. I don't want anything to happen to you. I know what it's like to want to help people. But you are so young. You have your whole life ahead of you."

"I know, but Dad, you're _the Avengers_! Part of me always wanted to join, but now's my chance. I would love to continue working with you as a family. We can do a lot of good."

"Steve?" Tony put his other hand over his and Steve's. "You will train him harder than any other stupid, whiny SHIELD agent. I don't want anybody to touch him. He will train every day after school with you. I don't care."

"I promise, Tony." Steve looked at Peter. "Son...we love you. We want what's best for you. We will always be there to protect you. But you have got to give us time. This is a lot to take in."

"Right, look, I'm sorry. This was why I didn't want to tell you. I didn't want you to worry."

"I know." Steve and Tony stood up and gave Peter a hug. "Get in the shower and get some sleep. You're lucky it's the weekend."

"Yeah, alright. Love you."

"We love you too, Peter." Steve led Tony out of the bedroom.

"JARVIS, lock down Peter's windows."

" _Yes, Sir_."

Steve gave him a look.

"What? He's _grounded_ , remember?"

"Tony." Tony stopped to look at his husband. "I have faith in that he is going to be ok."

"I know." Tony had tears run down his eyes. "I promise I won't let anything happen to him. And if anybody touches a hair on his head, they will have hell to pay. I won't let anybody hurt him. Or take him. I will _always_ find him, no matter where they hide him away."

* * *

PRESENT DAY

Tony woke up in confusion, not sure where he was. His mid section ached.

_Oh, right...I got stabbed._

It then all came crashing back to him, and he screamed.

"Tony! Tony! Honey, you're ok. I'm here. You're safe." Steve crawled onto the bed, and calmed his husband down.

"Peter?" Tony looked around.

"I'm so sorry..." Steve cried, wishing things were different.

But Steve and Tony Rogers-Stark were willing to comb through every piece of the universe to seek out the monster who took their son from them.


	5. Chapter 5

"I said I'm _fine_!" Tony had had enough of the babying. It was only a stab wound...he had been through a lot worse. He stormed outside into the savannah on the edge of the dome covering Wakanda. It was a quiet afternoon, no thanks to half of the people turned to dust.

It did not make him feel any better.

Tony looked down and saw some dust that did not match the dirt being blown in the wind. Horrified, he jumped onto a fence and sat. He had probably stepped on a dead child.

_Peter_

Steve approached him carefully, wanting to comfort him.

"Tony?" With no response, he sat next to him in silence for a while.

"What are we going to do, Steve?"

Steve held Tony's hand, stroking it with his thumb in small circles.

"We need to come together as a team. We can't be spread out all over the world. I believe that severely hurt us because..." He choked on his words.

"... _we lost_..." Tony finished. "You're right. I'll try to get a hold of Wong and see if he has heard anything from the space cadets. But I _can't_ stay here." Tony came down from the fence, pacing nervously. "He's probably laughing at us right now."

"But he's alone, Tony." Steve tried to find the silver lining. "He has no army, which is the second time we have stopped it...and...his followers are gone..."

Tony nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but who needs an army when you have the most powerful glove in the _universe_!"

"I hate to interrupt, but we have just received word from Clint...he's in New York." Bruce said.

"Thank God Legolas is ok."

* * *

Tony looked back sadly. Shuri had helped them so much. Even after loosing her brother, she put on a brave face and did more than they could have asked for.

Piloting the ship was pretty easy, beings she was piloting from her lab all the way back in Wakanda.

One of these days, Tony would love to take a field trip and play science with the little genius.

Landing safely at the compound, everyone graciously thanked Shuri and promised to keep in touch if she needed anything.

Clint was outside waiting on them...

And he looked terrible.

Natasha picked up her pace a little too eagerly and crashed into his arms. Nobody had ever seen her cry before, except for Steve when Fury had supposedly "died".

"You're ok..." She whispered. "Are they-"

Clint shook his head. Natasha sunk to the ground and sobbed.

"I couldn't do anything...they just...I was tucking them into bed when Laura...I'm so sorry, Tasha..."

Natasha never carried them...but she held them.

She never nursed them...but she sang to them.

She never saw them walk for the first time...but she cherished them.

But they were gone...her darlings...the shining lights that kept her going...

Clint led her inside, the others following behind quietly. They all locked themselves up in their private rooms for a long time.

Nobody had the heart to check in on each other.

* * *

Birds gave a beautiful song as the sun began to rise on a new day.

This was the day.

This was the day he had been waiting for.

It was his time.

The farm was quaint. Nothing to boast about. But it was enough to satisfy for the rest of the days he had left.

He grunted a little, still sore from that pesky Asgardian's near-fatal attack. How could something compete with what he had? All of the Infinity Stones, yet this God of Thunder would _dare_ leave a mark? Nothing like what Stark did. It was so much worse.

He knew they were both still alive. The Soul Stone told him all of the names of those still in existence. And yet, it did not anger him. He was content. They would never find him. And if he wanted to face them again, to teach them another lesson, he would.

Why bother when he took away the one person that held them together?

_Peter Parker_

Adopted into the family who dared stood up to him, that pesky insect could have been a new protoge. He had no choice in the matter.

It was random, showing no mercy to the victims chosen.

A small sacrifice for the greater good.

Hidden away in his little paradise, the Mad Titan continued to sit and ponder all that there was to know in this vast new universe.

* * *

Tony never left the bedroom. As much as Steve tried to coax him to eat, go for a walk, even watch a movie, Tony refused.

It was just too painful, because everything he did reminded him of Peter.

Their son.

_There's gotta be a way to bring him back._

Oh, how Tony wished. Steve had faith. He believed that if he could get his hands back on the Time Stone, there could be some way to fix all of this.

But the repercussions could be dire.

"Friday, pull up file 0810." Tony sat and watched every second of it, wishing he could turn back time, consequences be damned.

"Tony?" Steve quietly knocked before entering. He had a pizza with him and carefully slid it onto the bed. He could not help but turn towards the TV and watch with his husband in silence.

After a while, Tony could not stomach it any more, and took a slice and started to eat.

Steve wanted to remain strong for Tony. He was so easily broken nowadays, and he knew a lot of that was his fault. He had remembered Tony telling Steve that he himself made Tony want to be a better man. But as the years went by, roles reversed, and Steve loved him all the more for it. He wanted to be a good husband to Tony, and a good father to be Peter, even before he shared their names. He never felt like an outsider, because they made sure to love him as he did them.

Steve could not take it any more and started to cry when everyone on the video had left and it was just the three of them.

"Which toy do you wanna open first, Peter?" Tony teased. They were not toys in the normal sense, but with the amount of "toys" down in the lab...they still had a lot of fun. And what Tony and Bruce had given him for his birthday looked like a lot of fun to build.

"I'll do those later...let's play hide and seek!"

"You know that's for babies, right?" Tony teased.

"Not the way I do it." Newly-turned-twelve-years-old Peter mischievously replied.

"No vents! I don't want you accidentally stepping in BirdBrain's nest."

"Ew! Gross! Ha! Start counting!"

"Did he just turn _five_?" Tony looked to Steve, who shrugged.

"I wonder where he gets it from."

"Why is Hide and Seek of all things his favorite game?" Tony thought out loud to himself.

"I think it's because that's how we found him."

"He wasn't playing...he was starving."

"I know...but we found him. And it was the happiest day of his life. The day we found him and brought him home was the day he finally felt safe. Remember how sure you were that we had to adopt him? Something in my heart told me to trust you, and I am so thankful I did. We made a promise to him that we would always be there for him. There was no one who could hurt him anymore. He was safe. And no matter where he goes, no matter what part of the Tower or this big world he hides in, we would always seek him out."

"That is literally the cheesiest thing you have ever said." Tony sighed. "But as sappy as it is, you're right. He's our son, and nobody is going to take that away from us."


	6. Chapter 6

"Helllllllooooooooooooooooo?" Scott Lang had never been more lost in his life, except for that one other time. And he regretted not listening to his gut and putting this "very important mission" aside. Because now he was stranded, and something was wrong. Hope and Hank were not responding.

"Ooooooohhhh, boy..." He looked around, wondering if communications were the only issue and they were just going to bring him back and they will just try again later.

As in, _never_.

Scott was starting to have a panic attack. He could not calm down.

"How is anyone supposed to find me? Oh, great. Now I'm talking to myself too much. I'm losing my mind!"

_And I'm going to die._

It scared him too much to say it out loud.

" _Hello?_ "

Nothing.

" _Just hang on, ok? Everything is gonna be alright_."

Scott could not hear anything, but the last thing he remembered was a strong hand pulling on him. It took a long time, but the atmosphere of the earth in normal size never felt so rewarding.

He swore he would never go down there alone again.

"Are you hurt?"

That voice again. Scott forced his eyes open, and thought he was dreaming.

"Did I die? Cause there's no way I made it out alive...I, woah...are you an angel?"

The woman smiled, and honestly, Scott thought he was dreaming. He looked around...there was the van, the computer, a PILE OF DUST?

" _Hope?_ " Scott got up too fast, feeling extremely nauseous and dizzy.

"Hey, hey, easy...easy..." Strong arms held him down as he looked on in despair.

"What happened? They were right there!" Scott cried.

"I don't know...but that's why I came back."

Scott looked up. "Who are you?"

"A friend who just wants to help." She smiled, offering her hand to pull him up. "Let's get out of here." She looked to the van uneasily. "You drive."

"Uh...ok...this is all happening a little too fast. I uh...um..." Scott started rummaging through all of Hank's work, careful not to step on the piles of dust. "Oh my God! _What happened_?" He closed the laptop, packed up the gear, and closed the back of the van up. "They just vanished..." Tears were fogging up his vision. He got into the car and slammed the door, sitting still for a second.

Then a moment of realization. "I knew it!" He slammed down on the steering wheel. "I should've gone to help the Avengers."

"The Avengers?" The woman looked curious as she sat down in the passenger seat.

"Uh, yeah, Earth's Mightiest Heroes...you know, Iron Man, Captain America!" Scott paused, seeing the confused look on her face. "You're not from here, are you?"

"I've been gone a long time..." She looked away sadly. "But Fury needed me, and-"

"Who's Fury? Sounds like someone I don't wanna cross."

"Head of SHIELD. Really good guy. Yeah, he helped me a lot when I was here last time..." She drifted again.

"Last time?"

"It's a long, complicated story."

"Oh! SHIELD! Yeah, they were all over the news a couple years ago. This Nazi-German secret service of bad guys called HYDRA infiltrated them and Captain America shut it down. Unfortunately, SHIELD is basically non-existent."

"You're kidding me, right?" She looked upset, almost blaming herself. One Secret War after another. "I should've come back sooner."

"Well, thank-you for saving my life, by the way. I wish I could be of more help, unless you know how to get to Wakanda."

"Wakanda?"

"Yeah, there was a huge fight going on with the Avengers and some big army of nasty alien monsters from the movie Alien..."

"Ok..."

"It sounded pretty intense. But either way, I don't think all of the Avengers were there, so let's try New York. They have a base over there. Maybe they could help."

"Sounds like they need our help."

"Yeah, last time I helped them out, things didn't go so hot. Long story."

She smiled. "I think we got a lot of time for both of our stories."

They began the journey across the way as Day One of the Decimation ended.

* * *

As they made their way through New York, Scott let out a huge exhale.

"Well, out of the two of us, I think it's safe to say, you have me beat on the coolest yet most tragic backstory ever."

"Am I supposed to take that as a compliment?" She laughed. "These Avengers...they sound like a pretty good team. Well, besides, you know."

"They are freaking awesome!" Scott smiled. "I wish it was for a cooler reason than this, but-"

Another road block...caused by another helicopter crash...

"You know what? GPS can give me an alternate route." Scott backed up and rerouted, sticking to the back roads.

"What has happened to this world?" She wondered.

Some more time passed, and she saw a symbol that immediately perked her up.

The " _A_ " gave a sense of hope, as cliche as it sounds, and told her that she had come to the right place.

Scott pulled up to the front door. "I'll be right back."

He really did not want to have to take a flight to Wakanda. He was so tired from driving all the way across the country, basically. At least he had orange slices. He hit the intercom.

"Hi! Uh, is anyone home? This is Scott Lang...we met a few years ago, at the airport in Germany, and I got really big...Ant-Man? Ant-Man, I, I know you know that. That's _me_! Can you buzz me in?"

* * *

Natasha had not felt this vulnerable in a long time. She curled in tighter inside Clint's embrace. She was the only one he could ever fully trust with her true self. Her emotions. She never wore her heart on her sleeve. But with him, she was safe. And she could relax for once when it was just the two of them.

"I love you..." She whispered. "I know I don't say it enough. But I do."

Clint kissed her head. "I love you too." He knew she was not the romantic type. Neither was he. Their idea of a date was either extremely adventurous with safaris and sky-diving or crashing at home, watching TV with the kids. There was no in-between for them. But they showed their love in other ways. Subtle glances and gestures no one could understand but them.

"I need to get out..." Natasha got up and stretched, a little tight from being curled up in bed for almost a week. It was not like her, but she had been hit harder than she ever had been before, and Clint gave her all of the space and undivided attention she needed. She walked to the closet, threw on one of his hoodies, and motioned for him to follow her. He got up and took her outstretched hand and went with her to the living room.

They were surprised to see Thor back.

"Lady Natasha!" Thor gave her a gentle hug and Clint as well. "It is good to see you, Clint."

Thor was really struggling to put on a brave, happy face for his friends. He had only ever been able to talk to Bruce and Rhodey, since Tony and Steve were still locked up in their bedroom. But Rhodey had gone on to have a long talk with Ross, so he was out of reach at the moment. So Bruce was the only one with whom he could talk to. Also, he was there in the midst of it all. Thor never realized until after the SNAP just how hurt he really was.

_Loki._

_Father._

_Mother._

_Heimdall._

_Asgard._

_What more could I lose?_

"It's good to see you, Thor." Clint tried not to stare, but he was so shocked. Thor looked completely different. No hair, a robotic eye...that magical hammer was nowhere to be found. Seeing the hurt in his expression, Clint decided to not poke and prod just yet. He himself was hurting enough. These past few years, heck _few days,_ have been too much to handle.

"Nat, do you want some hot tea?" Bruce kindly offered.

"Yeah, thanks Bruce." Clint walked with her to the kitchen following Bruce.

Thor heard a noise and was confused. "Um, friends?" He pointed to a giant screen on the wall. "Who is this?"

They listened to it, stunned but a little hopeful.

"Ant-Man..." Natasha recalled that name.

_I really don't wanna hurt you..._

_I wouldn't stress about it..._

"Who? Ant-Man? You guys mentioned that before...is this _him_?"

"Yeah, it's ok. He's a friend." She let him in, and honestly, was starting to feel a little better.


	7. Chapter 7

Scott breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good! You're still here..." He walked into the compound to see a lot of familiar faces. To him, anyway... _they're the OG Avengers, man!_

"I'm assuming you're Ant-Man..." Bruce extended a hand. "I'm Bruce."

"I know...BIG fan! Ha..." Scott felt so nervous. It's _the Avengers_! And we're not fighting each other!

"He does not appear to be _that_ tiny..." Thor looked confused.

"Ah, I prefer this size right now...I was temporarily stuck in the quantum realm. Scariest moment of my life..."

"Quantum realm?" Bruce repeated, eyes going wide.

"Yeah, Hank Pym was working on it for years, trying to find his wife, who went subatomic, and we had to save her, and it was a big mess of things...I've been busy. Sorry I couldn't help you guys in Wakanda."

"Don't worry about it...you had to take care of your family." Clint understood perhaps more than most of them.

"Yeah..." Scott looked to Thor. "You look different...in a good way...it's just... _your hair_!"

"I am enjoying the freeness, the natural breeze that I now feel gives me great pleasure. But yes, I do miss it."

"Did you just want to go for a new look?"

"Some creepy old man cut it off." Thor answered. "I wonder how he fares these days."

"I'm sure he's making people happy..." Scott suddenly remembered. " _Oh_! I forgot! Um, come on, I want you to meet someone. I think she can help us."

They all followed Scott outside. The woman was standing in the middle of the yard, gazing at the trees. She turned to see the Avengers.

"Greetings." Thor responded first, clearly never one to meet a stranger. "I am Thor, and this is Natasha, Clint, and Bruce. Who might you be?"

"I'm Carol." She smiled. "It's very nice to meet you all." She looked around. "Where's Fury?"

" _You_ know Fury?" Bruce asked. "I...uh, he's never mentioned _you_ before."

"We used to work together a long time ago...and he called me back." She pulled out an old pager, showing a message from none other than Fury himself. "Scott helped me kinda understand what's been going on in the world..." She paused. "Forgive me, I still can't remember much."

"She's part Kree." Scott bragged on her. "Which makes her _awesome_!"

"But I'm still _human_..." Carol defended, a little worried that might set them off. "I was born here, grew up here, served in the Air Force...I much prefer this place." She looked fondly around again, taking in her surroundings.

"Well, whatever you are, as long as you're not trying to take over the world, you're in." Clint did not really care. He could tell she was struggling with something that had to do with her past. Between him and Natasha, they both knew what it was like, and had no shame in giving people second chances. "Doesn't matter what you did."

Carol relaxed her stance a little. "Thanks."

"Come." Thor gestured towards the compound. "You must be famished after your journey."

"Great! I'm starving! What's for dinner?" Scott perked up.

"Clint makes a mean spaghetti..." Natasha wrapped her arm around him.

Clint beamed. "You bet your ass I do. _Ow!_ " She pinched his ear.

Back inside, Tony and Steve had emerged from their room.

"Who's this?" Steve stood up from the couch.

"I'm Carol." Steve was surprised by the grip she had in the handshake. "It's an honor, Captain."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Everybody knows you...Hi, I'm Tony _Stark-Rogers._ "

"It's nice to meet you, Tony."

"Were you..." Steve thought there was something about her.

"Major in the U.S. Air Force...fighter pilot..."

" _Impressive_..." Steve raised his eyebrows.

Tony coughed, clearly getting jealous.

Carol took in her surroundings, noticing a SHIELD coffee mug. "I'm assuming Fury is not here..."

"Yeah, uh...we just assumed he... _well_..." Tony tried to come up with words, but it was still too hard to actually say it.

"What exactly happened?" Carol was getting anxious, and a little upset.

"Where do we start?" Bruce asked.

"Let me explain." Thor went on to tell her about the Infinity Stones, how they had come across most of them in the past, and what they knew of when Thanos came to take them all.

Carol's blood boiled. "I..." Her eyes flickered for a second. " _Where is he?_ "

"We don't know." Steve shook his head. "We have eyes and ears up in space, and supposedly in, um...different dimensions, but we have no clue."

Carol looked to Scott. "You're absolutely sure you didn't see him in the Quantum Realm?"

Scott nodded. "Trust me, I was all alone in there...except for those weird, manatee larvae-looking things..." He shivered.

"We'll find him." Carol was not the least bit unsure of that. "And we're going to end this, once and for all."

Although she was a new, mysterious face, they felt like they could trust her. Hell, if _Fury_ worked with her in the past, then she was alright in their book. This was going to take all of them to pull this off.

If they just knew where to start...

* * *

After dinner, everyone retreated to their own corner of the compound. Isolation was the only thing that could keep them safe...which was sad, really, for Earth's Mightiest Heroes...

Steve was right. They needed to be together, because together...they were almost unstoppable. But grief affects people in many different ways. Sometimes a little silence, hiding away from it all, can help one find the closure they need. In other instances, one has to find it in the company of others. Unfortunately, the Avengers could be pretty stubborn.

Scott stared at his phone, dreading what was going to be the end result. _Are they ok? Will they answer?_

He dialed Maggie's number.

It rang...

It rang...

It rang...

It-

" _Scott?_ " Maggie answered, sounding distressed.

"Maggie?" Scott felt relief. "Is everybody ok?"

" _Yes, we're fine. Sorry, I was waiting on Jim to call me back. He said he was stopping to get some takeout, but he just texted me saying he was stuck at the office. Paperwork...just...Scott, what's going on?_ "

"I have no idea." He closed his eyes. "But don't worry. I'm with the Avengers, and they'll fix this."

" _Ok...at least they know what they're doing._.."

"Thanks..."

" _Is that Daddy?_ "

"Peanut?"

Some shuffling on the phone..." _DADDY?! I miss you!_ "

"Oh, Peanut! Are you ok?" Scott started crying, but tried not to show it on the phone. "Daddy was so worried. I miss you so so much."

" _I know, but you've gotta go save the world!_ "

"Yeah...Daddy's gotta go save the world." He wiped tears from his eyes, feeling so much better.

" _Well, I know you can do it, cause you're the best!_ "

"Thanks, Honey. I love you!"

" _I love you, Daddy! Here's Mommy!_ "

"Ok, bye!"

" _Hey, sorry, I gotta go. We're in the middle of a My Little Pony marathon, and your stupid ant is getting antsy.._."

"Very funny. Have you fed him?"

" _Oh, no, he is helping himself with leftovers._ " _**CRASH!**_ " _I gotta go._ "

"Ok, hey!"

" _Yeah, Scott?_ "

"I'm so glad you guys are ok."

" _We are too. Talk to you later._ "

"Ok, bye."

Scott hung up the phone. All he knew was he was so grateful that she was still here.


	8. Chapter 8

_**BANG!** _

_My little man._

_**BANG!**_

_My baby girl._

**_BANG! BANG!_ **

_Clint..._

**_BANG!_ **

_He did not deserve this._

**_BANG!_ **

_He wanted to retire._

**_BANG! BANG!_ **

_But I forced his hand._

**_BANG!_ **

_Natasha._

**_BANG!_ **

_Natasha!_

**_BANG! BANG! BANG!_ **

"Nat!? Stop!"

She abruptly stopped, blinking as if coming out of a trance. Her focus transitioned from the large, grotesque target in front of her to the one of the only things worth fighting for in this world. Her heart rate never faltered...she could kill and immediately do arts and crafts without a timeout.

"I think you killed him." Clint smiled, trying to crack a smile. Maybe the joke was meant more for him than for her.

"Overkill is not usually my style." She was more efficient than this. She was letting her emotions get the better of her.

"Just blowing off some steam, I get it." He offered her a water bottle, which she took without a retort. "So...this Carol chick...uh..." Clint hesitated, not sure that was the best wording with his wife standing right in front of him. She did not give him too much to regret about, so he continued. "She seems a little...different."

"We've all been experimented on one way or the other." Natasha casually stated. "Some of us are better at moving on."

"I wish Fury was here to explain all of this..." Clint sighed.

"Like why she's just shown up late to the party?" Natasha took another sip of water. "After all that's happened. What? This is something we can't handle?" She was getting irritated. Almost threatened.

"We need all the help we can get." Clint sunk into a bench.

* * *

"SHIT!" Tony threw the wrench across the lab, mentally done...for the moment. He had been isolated for the entire day after this Carol character shows up with Scott.

"Deep breaths..." Bruce mumbled to himself. He was on the receiving end of the lab for the wrench to attack. He was sad to say that he really did not need to try to remain calm down in their precious lab anymore, since The Other Guy has refused to come out and play since crashing into Doctor Strange's abode.

Bruce was more than relieved, however, to have some of Tony back. The determined, yet very stubborn, Tony who will stop at nothing to get the job done. And Bruce was happy to help. Since the Hulk was out of commission, and the Hulkbuster was torn to shreds, they had to come up with a replacement. Luckily, Shuri had given them some vibranium to play with.

Tony was also working on a new suit, _surprise, surprise_. There was always room for improvement in his book, and the nanotech was definitely the right way to go.

But he had to do _more_...

Because obviously, last round was not enough...

"Throw a moon at me? I'll throw a nuclear bomb at you..." Tony mumbled, angrily working. It was actually screaming...but sounded like a mumble in the midst of the obnoxiously loud Black Sabbath blasting through the speakers.

How Bruce missed his quiet little lab on a completely separate floor at Avengers Tower...

Renovations were put on hold two years ago...for _many_ reasons.

He liked being on the outskirts of the city, away from the noise and people...

But still...

He could remember the fondest of memories back at the Tower.

Like their first night after schwarma...

When they found out Tony and Steve were together...

When they finally got to meet Clint and Natasha's children...

When Peter became a part of the family...

Why was everything ruined? The happiest memories turned to ashes because of what he did...

_Thanos_

That name had a venomous bite that almost physically hurt someone every time it was mentioned.

A name that plagued them all with nightmares.

A name they should have known about up front.

But the surprise threw them all off-guard.

What could be worse than an alien army attacking New York?

What could be worse than a couple of big and powerful goons preaching the gospel of Thanos?

None other than Thanos himself.

_Thanos. He's a plague, Tony. He invades planets. He takes what he wants. He wipes out half the population. He sent Loki. The attack on New York, that's him._

"Come in, Dr. Banner..."

Bruce got out of his head to see Tony covered from head to toe with who knows what.

"Huh? Sorry...I was-"

"In your head? Yeah, I know..." Tony knows how that goes...he was the world's worst. It was an escape...a hideaway from the rest of the world. "I need your opinion."

"Ok, on what?"

Tony turned, then threw a screwdriver at Bruce.

"Hey!" Bruce was getting tired of this. "Tony, look, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but the Hulk is not coming out. I don't know what his deal is. That's why we gotta finish this new armor for me."

"We could get you a smaller one like mine and Rhodey's."

"...I'm scared of heights."

"You stand eleven feet high." Tony shot back.

"Are we playing nice?" Steve came in, with, of course, food. It was easier to bring food down to the mad scientists than trying to get them to stop what they were doing and come up to the kitchen.

"He started it." Tony pointed to Bruce, who showed his hands in surrender.

"He's throwing things at me."

"I'll take that as a no." Steve smirked. Finally, they were getting some normalcy in this place. The walls were suffocating them after what happened. Although nightmares continued to torture them, and everyone had at least one mental breakdown a day, there was this newfound determination to try again. To punch harder.

The Avengers were not ones who gave up the fight so easily.

"So, how's our new fighter pilot settling in?" Tony tried to be nice, starting small talk, but Steve knew better. Tony was never one for small talk. He always had an agenda.

" _Tony_."

" _Yes, dear?_ " Tony sing-songed mockingly. He will never admit it out loud, but he liked it when Steve lectured him.

When Steve did not answer, Tony turned to see his husband inside his personal bubble.

"I'm going to go check on Scott and Thor. I heard they were doing something...outside." Bruce hated being an intruder on intimate moments like this was going to turn into.

"Hey, babe..." Tony smiled.

Steve kissed his grimy forehead. "You are filthy."

"I _looooove_ it when you talk dirty to me..." Tony raised his eyebrows.

Steve laughed. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Punish me?"

Steve hugged him tight. "Never." _You do enough of that to yourself..._

Tony could never get tired of this. Just being with Steve.

Just with Steve...

Just Steve...

Just...

Tony started breathing faster. His heart ached, as memories crashed down all around him.

"Tony?" Steve noticed when Tony let go of him that something was wrong. "Honey, what's wrong?"

_What's wrong? Well..._

"Friday? Updates on...anything?" Tony's voice cracked.

" _I am sorry, Sir. But there are still no signs of-_ "

"Ok, ok, I got it, I know...I'm sorry I asked."

"Oh, Tony, honey, _please_..." Steve pulled him in onto the sofa. The sofa Tony bought for him, so he could sketch. So he could spend time with him down in the lab. The same sofa that was at the Tower. Tony had it shipped all the way over here.

Because he always wanted Steve to be there with him.

"You are doing more than anybody could ever ask for...you need to stop beating yourself up. Just take a break, ok? No one will blame you. I-"

"Steve, I can't..." Tony shook his head. "I can't stop thinking about it. It's driving me insane. I can't do anything without thinking of...of..."

"Shhh...I know. I'm sorry. I understand, we all do. Just...let's just take the rest of the day, hm? I'm a little lonely..."

"Yeah, right. This place is crawling with weirdos that you can befriend. Especially the _new girl_..."

"Tony."

"What?"

"I love you."

Tony sighed. "I love you too."

Steve hugged him again, letting a tear fall down his cheek. He was so proud of Tony for stepping up and fighting.

If only he could do the same...

But he had to be strong for Tony because Tony needed him.


	9. Chapter 9

Going back is hard. Seemed like it was yesterday. The memory was still too painful.

But it had to be done for the greater good.

Greater good.

Begs repeating.

Somedays are better than others. It can be justified, and left to be forgotten about.

The cost would be too much to change. As in, everything.

But _this_...

The wind moaned as a magenta light highlighted a large moon over the quiet lake. No sign of life, other than the presence that had just entered the barren world.

Standing with an outstretched hand, the search had begun. By any calculations, it could have taken weeks, but alas, only a couple of hours later, with tedious care, it was found with surprise...relief, really.

The air particles danced between the stiff fingers. Each was counted to make sure they were all there.

After all, matter can neither be created nor destroyed...so the saying goes.

But the transformation...

With a thought and a glow of red, it was done. Back to the way it was.

As when dealing with a hurt child, careful attention went to examine it. And it was just as it was before...

_Perfectly balanced._

_As all things should be..._

Thanos returned home with the double-edged dagger, the beautiful red jewels, both ends just as dangerous as the day he gave it away. When he gave away his heart. This was now his most prized possession. A precious reminder of that whom he loved the most.

_Reality is often disappointing._

* * *

Steve smiled sadly at the tortured genius. Their little moment was over, and he was craving for more contact. Each day that passed, it was getting harder to get up and go. But seeing Tony down in his natural habitat working again...it was so good to see. And it helped himself by encouraging him to go for a run, start working out again, eat more. There was only one thing missing...

"Tony? What are you doing?"

Ignoring him, Tony's mind was set on...something.

Steve decided to just wait patiently, pleading him to be careful, as the movements became more desperate and things started to fly across the lab.

Finally, Tony emerged from a pile of what Steve would call a trash pile. He had a confidence on his face that made Steve smile.

"Whatcha got there?" Steve tilted his head, trying to look at what was behind Tony's back.

"Remember all those times I kept trying to apologize for...um... _everything?_ And we both kinda forgave each other cause, well, let's face it, there are bigger fish to fry right now. Uh..." A tear rolled down Tony's cheek. He quickly rubbed it away, embarrassed.

Steve's heart jumped into his throat as Tony revealed to him his shield.

Not only, but this shield was free of claw marks from T'Challa's claws and blood from... _Tony_...

"I..." Steve was speechless. "You..."

"Well, you know, I uh, well, it's been _two years_...I had to keep myself busy, what with all that happened before, and I, well...thought you needed an upgrade. Battle scars are cool and all, but _this_..." Tony turned to look at it admiringly. "This gives me, I mean, people hope. Here..." Tony offered the shield to Steve.

Steve hesitated.

_That shield belonged to my father._

"You deserve it." Tony smiled, tears in his eyes.

_You don't deserve it._

Steve stared at Tony, afraid this was a trick. "Tony, I...I don't-"

"Yes, you do." He took Steve's hand and put the shield on his arm. "It's always you...it's a perfect fit." Staring at the star in the middle, Tony gently ran his hand over the star. " _This_...is my magnum opus." The hand made it to Steve's chest and stopped. "It's still got quite a ways to go, but, _boy_ , will it be worth it in the end."

Steve's heart was racing. Chest gasping for breath. "Oh, Tony..." He kissed him sweetly. "After everything we've been through...how could I ever repay you?"

"Don't ever leave me." Tony cried. Steve wrapped his arm with the shield around Tony and held him close. "And _avenge our son_." He whispered.

"I promise..."

" _Sir, I hate to interrupt, but Miss Potts would like a word_."

Tony swore to himself. Steve gave him a stern look, which cracked into a smile. "Alright, ring her up."

" _I'm right here, Tony_."

The two men turned to see Pepper, dressed to the hilt as always, setting her briefcase down, and looking exasperated. Tony began running through anything that he could have done that would have ticked her off in the past 48 hours. He cannot really remember much else before that when it comes to minor things that upset people.

"Heeeey, Pepper..."

"Miss Potts." Steve nodded politely.

"Hey, boys. How is everyone? They were all having a picnic on the rooftop, when Thor caused a huge storm."

"He's just blowing off some steam, it's been a rough week..."

Pepper looked sad. Before anyone could speak, she crushed Tony with a hug.

"Tony, are you _ok_? I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner. I was at a meeting in Tokyo when it... _happened_. And I couldn't get a flight, and I have this splitting migraine that won't go away...I-"

"Hey, don't cry. I'm just peachy, all things considered." Tony cut his eyes to Steve, who took a deep breath. He then went back to Pepper's gaze. "I just...I just miss him so much." He broke down again.

Pepper cried harder. "I know, Tony. _I know_...I miss him too..."

After they had composed themselves, Steve offered her tea, which she gladly obliged. Making their way into the kitchen, the others had come in from outside drenched from Thor's mini episode.

"Lady Potts! How do you fare these days?" Thor kissed her hand, making her blush.

"Oh, you know, same crap, different day." She just now noticed the hair, and... "You look _good_."

"Trimmed up nicely." Tony sarcastically remarked.

"Very funny, Stark." Thor blinked, grateful that the tears hid in plain sight amongst the raindrops on his face. "I was just blowing off some steam, though I do apologize, my friends, that you were caught in the midst of it." Thor looked at the group around him.

"Gives me the excuse to take a shower." Clint shrugged it off. Natasha grabbed a dish towel and started to dry her hair.

"I was just excited to be there." Scott looked like a kid on Christmas morning. "Getting to see Thor do his thing...it was _awesome_!"

"Well, I'm glad everyone had fun." Bruce sarcastically stated. He was now getting cold and miserable. Too bad the Other Guy did not come out to play to teach Thor a lesson about self-control. _Wait, that would have been too contradictory..._

"Why don't you all clean up, and I'll order some takeout?" Pepper offered.

"Great idea. If me or Bruce have to cook one more homemade meal, I'm gonna turn into Rachel Ray, and he's gonna turn into the Pioneer Woman."

"Wow, _thanks_..." Bruce smirked.

"Oh, and if anyone's asking, I want Chinese." Clint added.

"Where are your manners, Katniss? What would the ladies like?" Tony teased.

Clint ran up to Tony, and got down on his knees. "Oh, I'm sorry, _dear_ , what would _you_ like?" He offered his palms up.

"I'd like shish kabob, so I can shove it _up yours_."

"Tony?!" Pepper and Steve yelled.

Carol laughed to herself, cutting her eyes to Natasha, who was doing the same. In that moment, something clicked between the two women, who immediately hit it off.

Boys will be boys.


	10. Chapter 10

Later that night, the sky had cleared, showing the stars.

It was beautiful.

Carol found herself with yet another restless night, so she drifted. Sitting on the rooftop of the complex, her eyes fixated on making patterns out of the stars.

She smiled, shaking her head. One formation almost looked like Goose, if she tilted her head a little and squinted.

"Oh Goose..."

She remembered her short time back on earth, wishing she could remember her former life in full. It is still in pieces, but they are slowly starting to come together. After all of this is said and done, she really wanted to go visit Maria, so they could catch up.

Maybe even become a family again.

If they were still around...

" _Mind if I join you?_ "

Carol turned to look behind her, seeing Thor.

She nodded. "Not at all."

The God of Thunder came and sat down next to her, long legs dangling off the side of the building. "I must apologize again for my little episode, I-"

"Don't..." She laughed. "It ended up being rather funny...and everybody needs to blow off some steam every now and then."

"Yes, I suppose so..." Thor looked up to the sky, thinking about his family. "So..." he coughed, trying but failing to not make this awkward. "You know Fury?"

"Yeah...I kinda crashed into a building and got his attention."

"Sounds like something I would do."

"He and I teamed up and we fought..." She stopped, still not fully forgiving herself. "We had a little adventure together."

"Funny he never mentioned you..." Thor wondered.

"Well...I've been...a little _busy_..." Carol had promised she would not be a stranger. But she came back too late. "...fighting this war between the Kree, who were the only family I could remember. They tricked me into doing some terrible things. I felt like I owed to ones that I hurt and forgot to right my wrongs."

"That is very admirable of you." Thor smiled.

"You don't know the whole story..." Carol looked away.

"Everyone has done wrong. It's just how we can learn from our mistakes and become better than we were before. And besides, if Fury trusts you, then you can't be all bad."

"Thanks...you guys don't seem too bad yourselves...the _Avengers_."

"It does have a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does..." Carol stiffened. "I promise you, we're going to end this...I'm just sorry I wasn't here to help sooner."

"We are all shook up from this defeat, but with your help and our team coming together again, I have no doubt that together we can stop Thanos. I know now I cannot do it alone."

_You should have gone for the head..._

Thunder rolled in the distance. Thor swallowed hard.

"Hey." Carol put her hand on his shoulder. "It's ok. We can do this. I understand you were all separated."

"We were everywhere...I thought I could just defeat him myself if I got a powerful enough weapon. But I underestimated him."

"And now, we can learn from it, come together, and win this war." She encouraged.

"You're right..." He laughed. "You make it sound so easy."

"I wish it would be..."

* * *

"Well, well...who do we have here?"

The Soul Stone shined brightly. A new face had interrupted his usual checkups on the Avengers.

Not that he was worried.

He did not even bother seeking them out to finish them off.

He had done what he set out to do.

And now, he could rest.

But his curiosity would spike every now and then. It was interesting to see how these humans reacted to something so devastating to them. They could not understand why he did what he did. In time, they would...

This new character was different. She used to be human, but now...

The Space Stone...it was connected to her somehow...no, it _made_ her...just like that poor girl who sacrificed her love by destroying the Mind Stone...

"She's strong...but she doesn't quite realize how strong." Looking into her past, Thanos saw that she was tortured, conflicted, and confused.

Perhaps she was not that much of a threat after all. Like the girl and Thor, emotions can hinder one from succeeding. True power is learning self-control, regardless of the circumstances. Realizing this a long time ago, he himself learned to push down those pesky emotions and learn to think logically. That is why he is here today.

That is why he won.

_The hardest choices require the strongest wills._

* * *

" _Glad I'm not the only insomniac._ "

Thor and Carol turned to see Tony, who looked like he had been wrestling with the bed sheets.

"Yes, well, can you blame us?" Thor asked.

Tony shook his head. "Listen uh, Miss Danvers-"

"Please, you don't have to do that. I'm not that old..."

"Riiiiiiiiiiight...see, this is why I'm never polite because it comes off as offensive. Anyways, uh, I am known to not play well with others, and my very, very fragile ego gets threatened every time I am introduced to a new face, so uh, I..."

"Apologies are hard for you, aren't they?" Thor teased.

"Shut it, Point Break."

"I accept your heartfelt apology." Carol said. "And, I wasn't trying to steal your husband, I promise."

"Well, good. Now I can finally rest knowing that everything is ok..." He paused.

"He easily gets jealous." Thor whispered to Carol loud enough for Tony to hear.

"Will you ever learn the art of whispering and not gossiping in front of the subject of said gossip?"

Thor pointed out. "What if I was just being a smart ass?"

"Then TEN POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR!" Tony threw his arms out, as if addressing a huge arena of people, spinning around dramatically.

"I don't get that one."

"Of course you don't." Tony looked defeated. "So, I heard you were buddy-buddy with Fury. Tell me, has he always been a grouch?"

" _Grouch? Fury?_ " Carol laughed. "What did you do to him?"

"Why blame _me?_ " Tony asked, almost offended.

"You catch on quick." Thor congratulated Carol.

"I came out here to have a good time, and honestly, I feel _so_ attacked right now..." Tony pouted.

"I guess we're even now." Carol said.

"Whatever." Tony turned to walk off. "I'm going back to bed."

"You just got here..." Carol was confused.

"I'm cold." Tony whined.

"Go on, then, snuggle up with your 'capcicle' as you have so graciously dubbed your very hot husband."

"Thor, I swear to you, you keep your freakishly muscled arms off my man or I'm going to knock you into the next century." Tony pointed to Thor, glaring daggers into him.

Carol tried to keep her composure.

"See? I told you he gets super jealous." Thor laughed. "I was merely complimenting him, and now I am a, what do you call yourself, Stark? A playboy?"

"Well, you got the blonde hair down... _oooooooooh_ , wait, you _don't_ anymore. You have no right."

"Stop mocking my hair!" Thor defensively rubbed his hand through his very short hair as a clap of thunder went off in the distance.

"You guys are so much fun." Carol shook her head. "I can't imagine what Tony did to Fury to make him, as you say, _grouchy_."

"I think it's because he never shuts up."

"He was like that when I met him!" Tony defended. "Besides, he's old now. Age can do that to people..." He looked to Thor, who is well over 1000 years old. "... _most_ people."

"I myself seem to have always had fun all my life." Thor bragged.

"You're always fun to hang out with." Tony agreed. He shivered. "Seriously, can you tone down the wind? I'm _freezing_."

"I do not control wind."

"No, just the lightening, which comes from clouds, which are shifting in the sky, which sometimes makes it rain, thus movement tends to make the wind blow, and since the sun is not out, there is no heat, making it automatically colder at night, which inevitably, in a roundabout way, is all your fault that I'm cold and miserable."

"I do apologize for causing you any discomfort."

Another crack of thunder made Tony almost jump out of his skin. Thor and Carol laughed.

"Carol, I hope you have a chance to get back inside before he drenches you in rain or zaps you." Tony walks off. "Night, kids."

"Goodnight, Dad." Carol joked.

Tony's heart ached as he made his way back to his room, where Steve was up waiting for him.

_Goodnight, Dad._

_Night, Pete._

"Tony, are you ok?" Steve got out of bed and rubbed Tony's shoulders.

Tony shivered a little. "I'm fine. There's just... _so many triggers, I just...I'm fine."_

"It's ok to not be."

"Try telling yourself that."

Steve was silent.

"I know I've got issues a mile wide, but don't think I don't know that you don't have it all together every day either. I know you're trying to be strong for me. But you don't have to, Steve. I want to support you the same way you do me. Cause at the end of the day, I know I can always count on you."

Steve turned to look at his shield propped up against the bed and sighed. "It's just..." He looked back to Tony. "It's hard sometimes. Especially now, with, everything that's happened."

"You haven't had it easy. I always think about all the shit-"

"Language." Steve said sarcastically.

"I've been through all my life, but you're no better off. Just because you used to be a soldier, doesn't mean you have to live the rest of your life like that. I mean..." Tony took a shaky breath. "How you opened up around me and how...you became a father to Peter. You became one of those perfect little suburban housewives. And you immediately take full responsibility for this team. Sure, we have our disagreements, and I'm a big pain in the ass." They both laughed. "But Steve..." Tony reached up to the back of Steve's head, and pulled it down where their foreheads were touching. "You don't have to be alone in this. I will always be there..."

Steve tried to contain his emotions. "Tony...I'm scared."

Tony looked up to see those big puppy dog eyes, and could confirm that his husband was indeed terrified.

"I don't know what's going to happen. And if we figure out a plan...I don't know what I'm going to do if it doesn't work..."

"I'm scared too." Tony assured him. "But I promise you, we are going to find this son of a bitch..." Tony put a finger on Steve's lips. "And I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure nobody I love _ever_ gets hurt again. Ok?"

Steve took a deep breath. "Ok..."


	11. Chapter 11

Bruce could not stop thinking about the Quantum Realm. It was so dangerous and mysterious...he and most people knew hardly anything about it.

But Hank Pym did.

And Scott Lang was the bridge to that knowledge.

Maybe there was something there they could work with that could help them get a step ahead of the game.

Because really, who knows what they will be facing? What, with Thanos becoming a literal god wielding more power than any other in the entire universe.

Bruce had a sinking feeling that Thanos went way too easy on them all. He only caught a glimpse of him, but when the Hulkbuster was fused into the rock wall in the jungles of Wakanda, Bruce could see almost everything. With a flick of the wrist here and a punch there, the Avengers were flung away like gnats.

He would hate to see what Thanos could do with all of those stones if they were his actual target.

Brought back to the present moment by yet another loud crash that was a little too close for comfort, Bruce literally jumped out of his seat.

There was Tony, once again covered in muck and frantically searching for something while spitting out orders to Friday.

"Tony?"

...

" _Tony?_ "

"Yes, dear?" Tony let out a yawn and immediately regained composure. "Were you in your head again?"

"I've been thinking..."

"That's usually what occurs when one drifts."

"Scott went into the Quantum Realm..."

"That's me, hi!" They turned to see Scott drinking a protein shake and waving like he was being introduced to new classmates. He started rambling. "I did, and I'm never going back. Scariest moment of my life. If it weren't for Carol, I'd still be down there."

"But what if we all go down there?" Bruce wondered. "And somehow..."

"Go back in time and kill that purple cancer when it was benign?" Tony snarked off. Although he wanted his revenge to be a little more, personal, that would get the job done. Then none of this would happen.

"Now Tony, we have to be careful with time travel. One person can alter several people's lives."

"He destroyed mine, Bruce..." Tony remarked sadly. "He..." Tony went back to work before he had another breakdown.

Bruce thought a moment. He turned to Scott, who shook his head, clearly not the therapist type. "Look, Tony. Hear me out." Tony looked up and it hurt Bruce to see his friend in so much pain. _Dammit, Hulk, look at what we've done...We let our friend down._ "We can't go back that far because...think about it. If it weren't for Thanos, we would have never met. I mean, the Avengers may never have been a reality."

Tony spaced out as Bruce kept talking. He did have a point.

_No threat, no Avengers._

_No Avengers, no Steve..._

_No Steve, no Peter..._

_At all._

Tony cursed out loud. He hated time travel.

"Ok, Doctor, I get it." He took a deep breath. "I'm just saying, we need to go through all of our options." Tony thought back to those exact words being said two years ago about the Accords.

_Had I have just considered all of our options and talked with Steve, none of this would have happened._

Tony's chest ached. Two years was a long time to go without seeing the love of your life. Even if you were so mad, you almost killed each other. He should have called. He should have gone out looking for him. He could have built an underground apartment underneath the complex to house the "rogue Avengers" and settled things with Ross sooner. He could have...

Tony's mind clicked back over to Bruce's conversation, and after hearing the word van, he nodded. "Right, let's go check out that clunker."

Together, he, Bruce, and Scott brought in all of the equipment to go over piece by piece. Scott luckily had some notes of Hank's that helped Tony and Bruce further understand what was going on with this new realm of science.

Of course, Friday helped too.

* * *

Thor got up panting, then turned to see Natasha wink at him.

" _What was that?_ "

"It's a photon blast." Carol said, like it was obvious and nothing out of the ordinary. "Sorry about the punching bag."

"Nonsense, you should see me sparring with Banner. It's loads of fun." Thor missed the other side of his friend. Sure, he liked Bruce, but he was all numbers and science with a lot of PhD's...the Hulk was more his style.

Carol looked horrified. "Is there something I don't know about?"

Clint called from the corner of the ceiling, one of his many nests around the complex. "When Banner gets mad, he turns into a huge green monster called the Hulk. Science experiment gone wrong. So, you could say he's a..." pausing for dramatic effect, " _mad scientist_."

"Just... _stop_..." Natasha rolled her eyes while Clint did the blow horn, cupping his mouth with his hands.

"Well, you can't judge a book by its cover." Carol liked these Avengers. They were all so different, and yet, she could see they really got along together, like a family. A very different kind of family, but still.

Steve got off the treadmill, and reached into the mini fridge where they keep water bottles and sports drinks so nobody gets dehydrated. "You should have seen _me_ back in the day." Steve smiled fondly. "I was 5'7 and weighed 110 pounds. I was so sick, I shouldn't have even left the house."

Carol blinked, and could not help but stare at the super soldier. " _Wow_...impressive..."

"I used to have a real eye here," Thor pointed to his fake eye, "and long, luscious blonde hair."

"Yeah, and you were the _prettiest princess_ in the land." Clint teased.

Thor nodded proudly as Clint doubled over, almost losing his balance.

"Everyone goes through dramatic changes in life sometimes, and it can be a very fruitful learning experience." Thor tried to sound philosophical, and he truly was, but Clint was not in the mood to listen. He enjoyed listening to Thor being all, ancient and medieval, sounding "serious" while all he can think of is The Princess Bride. It was _inconceivable_ Thor had never seen that movie, and he wanted to change that.

"Well, I'm glad we had our daily philosophical lesson," Natasha said as she nonchalantly put away her guns and knives. "Clint, you hungry?"

"Always!" Clint climbed down to the ground, then was immediately reminded how short he was compared to Thor and Steve. He frowned. Then he went back to focus on food, and followed Natasha out.

"Where is Tony?" Carol asked. "I'm surprised he wasn't down here with us."

"Well, Tony is not the type to hit the gym. I've tried for years to get him to start a healthier routine, but, well, he's _Tony_." Steve thought back to all the times he would find Tony passed out from exhaustion in the lab and how many countless lectures he would give the genius about eating healthier, sleeping at night, and working out. And he does workout, just when he is not...pre-occupied with other things. Which is _never_ , but still. Tony does try...when he wants to. And honestly, besides being a little more healthy, Steve would not change a thing about his little genius. He loved seeing Tony work in the lab, doing what he does best. Everyone on the team brings something different to the table, and without Tony well...

_...I just pay for everything, and design everything and make everyone look cooler._

Speaking of Tony, Steve looked at the time and sighed. It was time for another round. "Alright, let's call it a day."

"Splendid! I could eat a cow!" And even the others knew that when it came to Thor, he was not exaggerating.

After cleaning up, Steve went to the lab to fetch the two geniuses.

"Scott, I'm glad you found some new toys to play with." Tony commented as Scott was beaming like a kid as he kept fireballing Tony and Bruce with questions while they were going through Hank's notes.

"Are you converting him?" Steve smiled. Tony kept his thoughts to himself because unfortunately, playtime was over.

"Actually, I have a Master's in electrical engineering." Scott waved his hand, gesturing to the lab. " _This is fun!_ "

"See Bruce? I told you...it's like Candy Land." Tony was proud to have another little mad scientist running around...Peter would love this guy.

"Well, it's time to eat real food." Steve raised his eyebrow as Tony wined.

"Not hungry."

"Yes, you are. You only had a bowl of cereal for breakfast."

"I'm hungry!" Scott raised his hand.

"Is everyone I meet a Captain America suck-up?" Tony wondered out loud.

"I'm a huge fan!" Scott defended.

"Of course you are." Tony's jealousy peaked slightly. But then again, he was pretty lucky to have snagged the oldest and most gorgeous bachelor out there.


	12. Chapter 12

" _Peter?!_ " Tony shot up in bed, beads of sweat lining his brow. His chest ached, and he tried, but failed to control his breathing. Frantic eyes searched all over the room for signs of danger.

Silence. All except for the soft snoring of the super soldier sleeping peacefully. But after Tony's sudden arousal, Steve began to wake up.

"Tony? Honey, are you ok?" Steve thought it was another nightmare, and rolled over to comfort him, but his hand met an empty spot in the bed. He blinked several times, just barely able to see Tony clearly storming out of the door.

Steve stretched his arms above his head, and slid gracefully out of the bed. He poked his head out into the hallway, seeing another bedroom door open...

Tony jerked the door open and flipped on the lights, scared to death.

"Peter?" His eyes landed on the lump in the bed moving, before a jerk threw the blankets off, and before he could register what was happening, Carol was standing inches from his face, eyes glowing bright.

Carol paused and stepped back, realizing in horror what she was about to do. She had no idea how long ago she drifted off, but like most nights, it was not a peaceful slumber.

" _Tony?_ "

Her eyes dimmed as she cut them around the angry genius to see Steve standing cautiously in the doorway.

" _Where is he?!_ " Tony stepped into Carol's personal bubble, and she instinctively stepped back, remaining perfectly still otherwise.

"Who?" She asked.

"Where. Is. My. Son?" Tears streamed down his face.

Carol took in her surroundings, seeing the Captain America poster, the action figures of the Avengers, and an arc reactor encased in a glass cube. She never paid much attention to the decor before, she was just thankful for a spare bed to sleep in. This was clearly a teenage boy's room...a son...supposedly...

"I'm so sorry." She whispered.

"Tony?" Steve walked around Tony to face him and make his presence known so as not to startle him.

"He was having another nightmare, Steve. Did you not hear him crying for me?" Tony's eyes pleaded for help, and Steve's heart broke at that moment.

He recalled many nights, especially at the beginning, when little Peter would cry and beg for one of them to come save him from the nightmares. He would hide under the covers, waiting to be scooped up into their arms. That was where they would always find him. Then the bad things would immediately go away.

"I'm so sorry, Tony. But I am right here with you. You're ok..." Steve looked around the room. He had not been in this room in forever. It hurt him just as much...

Peter...

"Peter?" Tony looked up at Steve. "He was so scared, Steve..." He buried his face into the soldier's chest. "He was begging me, he didn't want to go. He was hurting. He felt it..."

"Shhhhh...I know...I know..." Steve cried quietly as he rubbed his hand in slow circles on Tony's shaking back. His other hand massaged the dark messy hair as his own bare chest was dripping with tears.

"My poor boy...I miss him so much, Steve..."

"...I miss him too..." Steve choked out.

They did not even notice Carol sneak out. She felt horrible for causing such a scene. She found herself wondering the halls, and decided to go back up to the roof. Gaze at the stars. Feel the cool night air.

It would do her some good.

Out there, she was not so confined. She could breathe.

Not to her surprise, she saw Thor, who seemed to be praying.

"Father, forgive me, for I have failed you, and mother...and Loki. But I promise to avenge you all. I pray that you are all happy together feasting in Valhalla. Loki, if you can hear me..." He stopped, unable to finish, as he wiped a tear from his one good eye. "It's just so hard...being alone like this."

Carol immediately started to turn away, but snapped a twig and froze. Thor turned to see her.

"I'm so sorry..." She was always in the way. "I never wanted to bother you all..."

"Whatever do you mean?" Thor stood up and walked towards her. "You're a part of the team now." He smiled, but it never made it to his eyes.

"Tony had a nightmare and I only made it worse." She threw her hands up and slammed them down to her side. "I am sick and tired of being the cause of other's pain!" She stopped for a moment, then looked to Thor, remembering how she not only made Tony's nightmare worse by just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but she left and just did the exact same thing to Thor, who was in the middle of mourning his family.

"We are all cursed with those horrid dreams. But Tony, he has it out just as bad as you and I. He loved his son very much. Would do anything in the world for him." Thor looked off admirably. "He misses him terribly. Young Stark was a smart lad. Loki and I...we would have so much fun together. He was so full of this desire to be just like his fathers. He was destined for greatness, even before he became a spider..." At Carol's confused look, he quickly explained. "Not in appearance, just in abilities."

"Sounds like a cool kid." Carol drifted, then frowned. "Thor, this has to stop. We have to find Thanos."

* * *

Early that morning, before the sun even rose, Scott put on his suit and went to the lab. He wanted to try something.

Even after constantly telling himself and everyone else he would not go down into the quantum realm, he wanted to try to remember what all he saw. He could barely remember hearing Carol's voice, calling to him, and the feeling of her pulling him up to their reality, normal size. Looking around, he started going over the notes again, and what all Hank had discovered.

There were no mentions of the weird manatees. Curiosity wanted Scott to find out about those creepy crawlies eventually.

Suddenly, there was a rumbling in the background. He walked forward tentatively a couple of steps, then felt a flash of heat on his back.

He instantly shrank and ran.

* * *

"Do you hear something?" Steve asked Tony, who snapped out of his depressive state to listen in on...

**_BOOM!_ **

Fire and the smell of gas engulfed the entire compound. Everyone was caught off guard.

Thor and Carol were thrown off the building and into the trees and bushes of the surrounding yard.

Clint and Natasha were crushed underneath the dresser and hammocks Clint insisted on having for his makeshift nooks attached to the ceiling.

Bruce, still not hulking out, moaned as he had just been able to fall asleep, only to be woken up but luckily flipped his mattress up and on top of him to protect him from the blast.

_Are you still in there, Hulk? Did your instincts kick in finally?_

He figured it was better than nothing.

The compound collapsed as the sudden explosion ended as soon as it began. Sparks shot out from wiring and Friday's voice could no longer be heard, as she was cut off trying to make sense of what just happened.

They were under attack.


	13. Chapter 13

All of a sudden, the smoke cleared, filling everyone's lungs with clean, fresh air of the night. A spark jumped here and there from the broken walls and crushed appliances. A huge beam of light shot straight down into the front yard.

One by one, the Avengers tentatively made their way through the rubble towards the front of the complex. Nothing but brightness could be seen.

And then...

"Oh, he's a lot bigger than I imagined." Scott flipped his mask up, revealing a terrified look on his face.

"You could not live with your own failure. Where did that bring you? Back to me." Thanos stood tall, holding up his golden fist with all six stones gleaming. When the portal disappeared, they could see he was clothed in golden armor, blending in with the guantlet.

"Seems like you're the one who needed to come to us...can we help you?" Tony snarked off, hiding his fear behind his wit. He could feel Steve give him a look that said to shut up and not make this worse.

"Haven't you done _enough_?" Thor asked angrily, but almost pitifully.

Thanos laughed. "Look at the world around you. Is it not more peaceful?" He turned his head to the destroyed complex and shook his head. "I thought you would be grateful for the burden I have taken from you."

" _Taken_ from me?" Tony shoved Steve's hand off and stepped forward, not scared anymore, just angry. "You want to know what you took from us? You took away _our families_!" Tony screamed.

"We all have to make sacrifices, Stark. And now, you can rest, knowing you don't have to deal with the hardships of raising such a naive little _brat_ -" Thanos fell back a step, not expecting to be interrupted, but smiled because he knew he just hit a nerve. He looked to Thor, who had already summoned Stormbreaker.

"Don't you dare talk about my son like that." Tony did not take his gauntlet-covered hand down, ready to fire again.

Thanos laughed again. "Earth's Mightiest Heroes...and to think I did not even have to worry about tearing you apart when you did that to yourselves almost a few years ago. You just don't get it, do you? This world does not need you. _I_ know everything about you. Your past, your regrets, your hopes and dreams."

"He sounds like a prophet, all talk and no action."

"Clint, don't encourage him." Natasha warned.

"A wise AI once said that your very strength invites challenge, challenge leads to conflict, which breeds... _catastrophe._ "

Tony swallowed hard. JARVIS, no...Vision had said those exact words back when they were introduced to the Accords. Maybe he was right?

"It seems to me that you're the only one that has brought the lasting destruction to this world, not them." Carol stepped forward, gesturing to the Avengers behind her. "I don't know why you did what you did, but you will regret it."

"Ah, we finally get to meet..." Thanos curled his fingers threateningly. "It's odd, coming from someone like you. After all you've done. Someone, who is full of regret nowadays, slowly learning about your past." The Soul Stone shone brighter than the other stones. "Do you want to know? I can tell you _everything_."

"I'm not interested in playing your games." Carol's eyes lit up. "I-" She was cut off as Thanos shot her back several feet, crashing into the ruins of the compound.

Thor immediately charged, swinging Stormbreaker.

"Not again, you don't!" Thanos with all of his might, fought against the God of Thunder's power, but dove out of the way to take care of the...humans.

Using the Reality Stone and the Mind Stone, he warped Tony's, Steve's, Bruce's, Natasha's, Clint's, and Scott's minds. They stood there in a trance, unaware of the horrors going on around them as Carol and Thor continued to fight against Thanos.

"Do you really think you have what it takes to stop me? Thinking you can go to another realm to fight against me? Your pathetic ways of science are no match for the power that I possess." Thanos did not blink as Stormbreaker struck him again.

Thor was getting desperate. "You think killing them is a way of saving them? You are wrong. Death is not the answer. The universe was just fine on its own."

"Says the man who wanted to destroy every last one of those Frost Giants. Tell me, Odinson...did it feel good to see that halfbreed die in front of you by _my_ hand?" Thor was shaking, he was so angry. " _Did you mourn?_ "

Thor screamed as he charged Thanos again, who used the young god's anger to his own advantage, as he was not concentrating enough to pay attention to where he was going, because Thanos phased right through him. Branches and roots held down the Asgardian, preventing him from moving.

"Now, where were we?" Thanos smiled at Carol, who lit up in fury. "So _weak_..." He shot at her, but she dodged it easily. " _flawed_..." She fired back, but the gauntlet absorbed the blast and shot it back. Carol gasped for breath as she suddenly found herself choked and held firm in a tight grasp, every stone lighting up in her face. A blow to the head hurt, for sure, but was not enough to knock her unconscious, but the lights went out in her eyes.

Wheezing, she managed to choke out. "I'm not...what...you think...I am..."

"What are you, then? You're not Kree...certainly not human...you're nothing but an _infection_ sought out to destroy everything I have done to help this universe. What have you done? _Murder_ innocents for a cause you don't even believe in anymore. You allowed yourself to be manipulated and used. Yet you call yourself a _hero_?"

"Leave her alone!" Thor managed to break free from his bonds.

Thanos slammed Carol into the ground. She laid there, horrified and scared. She looked to the Avengers, who had blank looks on their faces.

"Why do you care? Everyone you love is _dead!_ " Thor fought Thanos with a rage, not realizing his mistake in letting his emotions make the best of him. "And now you want to endanger those who you've sworn to protect!" Thanos grabbed Stormbreaker and squeezed. "Ah!" Frustrated, he threw the ax into a portal leading somewhere far away, and shut it, figuring it would buy him some time with Thor.

Using the stones, he forced Thor and Carol both into a strong hold with the Power Stone, bringing them closer to him.

" _None_ of you are worthy." Thor's stomach flipped. He hated those words. "You think you fight for this world, but you're too selfish. You're not enough." Carol inwardly boiled with anger.

"Stop it."

" _Look_ at them." Thanos turned them around to see the solemn Avengers. "Mere humans, who, whether by accident or will, accomplished more than you could ever have mustered even if you tried."

The sky lit up with lightning. Thanos did not even flinch.

"Is that the best you can do?"

"This is the best _I_ can do." Carol said proudly, her whole body igniting.


	14. Chapter 14

Tony opened his eyes, confused. He was...back in Siberia...

He strained to get up, but his armor weighed a ton without the power. Someone struggling next to him...make that two men talking to each other...and someone, running, screaming...was it his name?

" _POPS?! DAD?! PLEASE, STOP! PLEASE! I...I just wanna go home...I'm sorry._ " Peter Parker was crying, holding his mask in his fist, as he sunk to his knees. He continued to beg as the two men clearly ignored him.

"Peter? Son, what are you doing here?" Steve felt ashamed, embarrassed to show himself like this in front of his son. He continued to help Bucky, whose breathing was shallow.

Peter ignored him and crawled over to Tony, who was trying but failing to get out of his suit.

"FRIDAY...unlock." He let out a gasp as the shards of metal that was stabbing him from the indention made by the shield was finally released.

" _Sir, it appears you have multiple wounds that need pressure applied to prevent bleeding.._." Friday diagnosed calmly.

"I said I'm _fine_ , Steve, go help him... _they're your family!_ " Bucky angrily hissed underneath his breath. Peter heard every word, and turned around hopefully to his other father.

Steve hesitated, but when Bucky literally shoved him away, he slowly took off his helmet and turned around to see Peter hovering over Tony, whose face had so much blood on it, Steve was about to hurl. Trying to steady his rapid heart, he knelt down and stared, as if waiting for permission. Tony just looked at him, scared to death.

"If you're gonna do it, just get it over with..." Tony cried. "I'm _done_ fighting you, Steve. I'm sorry I just...I just want you to promise me that you won't leave Peter, I-"

"No, Tony..." Steve ripped his suit open, then tore his undershirt off to make a bandage. "We're not doing this anymore...I was so stupid, I should've told you about your parents, I should've told you about Bucky, I should've listened to you so we could've gotten him help, I-"

"Pops?" Steve went rigid when he saw that hurt look in his son's eyes. "Whatever is really going on...can we please just _stop_? I hate seeing everyone fighting. I thought...I thought we were a _family_..."

Tony waited to hear for a reply, but never did. He passed out as he heard screams to stay awake all around him. Only when he finally woke back up, did he feel truly rested. He saw he was back home at the compound, with Steve and Peter by his side.

"Steve?" Tony shook the sleeping form in his lap, then screamed.

Steve stared blankly back, blood running down his face. And Peter was thrown lifelessly over him.

* * *

Tony fell backwards, seeing he was back outside the compound. It was all just a bad dream. He heard another ear-piercing roar that was music to his ears.

The Hulk was back! And he was doing a great job keeping Thanos busy...busy enough to make it easy to break out of this trance.

Tony turned to see Natasha and Clint snap out of it, followed by Scott, but...Steve was still in there.

"Steve?" Tony ran to him, and was scared to touch him at first. "Steve? Can you hear me? Please wake up! It's just a bad dream, none of this is real!" He cupped his hands around Steve's face, as tears started running down both of their faces. "Steve? I'm so sorry about all of it. It was my fault. I should've listened to you. I just wanted you to come home. Please come back home. Please...come back to me."

Steve collapsed to his knees, breathing like he had not been for last few minutes. He gripped Tony's hands tight, then looked around.

"Tony?"

"It was just an illusion. But hey, the Big Guy is back, and the curse has been lifted!" Tony smiled.

"I-I don't understand...it was all so real...I was..." Tony knew he must have had a similar dream to his. Siberia was going to take a long time to get over.

"I'm..." Steve could not find the words.

"I know, _I know_..." Tony knelt down to pick up his shield. "But right now, we got bigger fish to fry."

"WHERE IS MONSTER?" The Hulk roared in frustration.

Everyone looked around to see Thanos was gone. He had disappeared.

"That son of a bitch!" Tony stormed off, wanting to punch something, particularly someone, in the face, until the shades of purple turned to shades of black and blue. "I have had it with him! He thinks he can come down here and throw us around like ragdolls then play a bunch of mind games with us? No!" Tony kept going on, everyone staring. They were all shook up, but honestly it was not their first rodeo, because in reality, the nightmares never stopped.

Scott, however, broke down and cried. "I...I just need a minute. Um..." He ran inside, not caring what time it was, to call his family again. _I just want to make sure._

The Hulk was angry. He was pissed all of his friends were hurting this much. Puny Banner was right.

"Hey, big guy..." Natasha slowly approached him. "The sun's getting real low..." She reached out, palm up, as everyone quieted down.

"No work on Hulk anymore. Puny Banner safe now from nightmare." The Hulk tore up all of the branches that had held Thor down earlier in the fight. "Tree won't hurt friend any more!"

"Aw, we're friends again." Thor could not help but brighten up a little bit after coming to a wonderful conclusion. He went over to Carol, who appeared to be too scared to touch her neck, but it was sore. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Carol lied. "Never better..." Thor's eyes plead her to tell him the truth. "Just another big bully I've gotta beat up." Honestly, she was so relieved the Hulk managed to break out of the trance, because she tried as hard as she could to break free, but Thanos was a lot stronger than she had anticipated.

There has got to be a way to get those Infinity Stones away from him.

"Well, I guess we don't need the lullaby anymore." Natasha concluded. She was stunned to see the Hulk, yes, but to see him _talk_ and _show emotion_? That was new.

"As long as we got him back, that's all that matters to me." Clint shook off his funny feeling. He knew it was just a play with their heads, he was an expert in that department, but still...why so personal? What did they do so wrong to upset this stupid purple giant?

"Tony, please calm down." Steve held Tony until he stopped hitting him to get away and started crying again. "There's-"

"Oh, I'm gonna do something." Tony, like a flip of a switch, going from one emotion to another. "I'm not going to let him get inside our heads again. He played us like puppets! I'm. Done." Tony called the Quinjet from underground, and started walking towards it. "Well, obviously, vacation's over. Let's go back to the Tower."

"But I thought you didn't have the Tower anymore?" Scott ran up to the group, feeling much more relieved but a little guilty for waking his daughter up.

"There was just some remodeling I wanted to do for...reasons...but none of that matters anymore. We can't stay here, and the Hulk needs to be house-trained anyway. You're his new babysitter, Ant-y."

"Uh, what?" Scott asked, not really understanding, but stopped as the Hulk came up to him.

"Tiny Man?"

"Hi..."

"Tiny Man, friend?"

"Uh, yes?" Scott coughed as the Hulk slammed his giant hand onto his tiny shoulders.

They all boarded the Quintet, Clint and Natasha taking the pilot and co-pilot positions.

"Obviously, there aren't enough seats, so we'll have to look out for each other. Don't worry, I'm already working on some upgrades for a spaceship."

"Spaceship?" Steve wondered.

"Yeah, I'm done hiding out and waiting. We're taking the fight to him."


	15. Chapter 15

The Avengers all moved unceremoniously back into the Tower. It seemed haunted, since they were missing one little boy who literally made the place shine. FRIDAY attended to the maintenance, as Tony found it harder than he thought to come back here.

This is where it all started.

Where they all began to really become a family.

So many memories.

Steve felt the tension in the room, and tried to put a positive spin on it.

"Hey," He stole Tony away from his spiraling mind. "It's good to be back home."

"Yeah, well, my lab is unprecedented. Nothing can top this. That piece of junk back upstate can just-" Tony kept mumbling as he was confirming with FRIDAY what all needed to be done for the Homecoming Protocol.

Everyone was a little relieved, to say the least, to be back home, despite the lacking presence. Reverting back to their old rooms, it was nice to get to a sense of normalcy again. Thor offered Carol his room, as he lied, saying he always fell asleep on the couch watching TV.

There were TVs in every room.

Carol politely declined at first, but when he insisted, she finally accepted.

"You're not intruding. You're part of the family, remember?" He gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks..." She patted his hand with a warm smile. "Have I ever told you you are literally the nicest man I have ever met?"

"Well, thank-you." Thor bowed a little.

She laughed. _He really was a prince, like in the fairy tales, huh?_

* * *

With Carol's help, it did not take long for Tony to figure out how to build a space ship: one big enough for all of them, and strong enough to withstand the unknowns of space and hopefully other threats.

Also, Vibranium...so helpful. Tony really owed Shuri big time.

Unfortunately, Bruce did not show up till last minute, as it took some time to convince Hulk that the imminent danger was gone...for now.

"Thanos..." Hulk kept growling. Eventually, Natasha and Thor managed to calm him down enough, and Bruce looked over the plans to build this thing.

"Seems pretty simple."

"Sure, Bruce, yeah, glad to know someone's been napping enough for the both of us." Tony winked at Carol, who smirked back.

Carol was grateful Tony seemed to have fully trusted her now. He was very protective of his family, even though it is much smaller now. But that was all about to change, if she had any say in it.

She kept fighting this urge to go off on her own and fight him, but after the fiasco at the compound, she found it wiser to fall back into ranks with a team of truly remarkable people.

A loud noise outside interrupts them, thankfully not re-awakening the Hulk for a moment.

"Son of bitch..." Tony looks up to see Rocket and Nebula, who looked a little worse for wear. "Where the _hell_ have you two been?"

"Looking for Thanos. What else?" Rocket shot back.

"Hey," Tony snapped his fingers to get Rocket's attention, who chose to ignore the puppy trick. "Newsflash, since you haven't been here, he just knocked down my summer home, almost killing us!"

"Sorry, I was too busy eating fresh strawberries or whatever rodents eat and finding the big purple grape myself! And I _did_! Thanks for asking!"

"Insufferable." Nebula groaned. "We found Thanos in this place called the Garden. I should have looked there sooner, beings that's where he's always wanted to go once he...did it."

"Well, thanks for finally sharing with the class." Tony was relieved, to say the least. Now they have a heading. But he could not help but feel a tinge frustrated by their absence. They were severely outnumbered.

"Here, can you give me the coordinates?" Carol asked Rocket as she tapped on her wrist.

"Ooo, so fancy. And where the hell have _you_ been this whole time? Heard you're pretty hot stuff."

Nebula rolled her eyes.

"Well, as you know, there are a lot of planets out there, that unfortunately don't have the Avengers or the Guardians of the Galaxy to look after them. I've been stretched pretty thin for the past 20 years."

"You look good for your age." Rocket complimented.

"Thanks." Carol did not miss a beat, then looked at the location Rocket gave her.

"So, about The Garden..."

"Of Eden?" Steve walked in with Thor, wanting to see what has been going on.

Tony fought the urge to just pummel him with kisses for being adorably stupid. "Close, babe. It's just a planet."

"Oh..." Steve frowned. "How's the ship going?"

"Well, actually, we do need some muscle..." Tony paused when Carol coughed to get his attention. "Um, actually, we're ok." He saw she holding a table full of tools on the palm of her hand, eyebrow raised higher than Tony ever thought possible. "Spoke too soon."

"And now that _I'm_ here, we can finally make some progress on this piece of junk." Rocket went to look over the ship with Bruce.

"Yeah, better late than never." Tony moaned. "I'm taking five..." He kissed Steve. "...hours?" He whispered. Steve laughed.

* * *

Natasha and Clint silently sat on the rooftop. It was a quiet day, not a cloud in the sky.

Clint took Natasha's hand, squeezing softly. That hand quivered a little, nerves wanting to explode.

A little flame danced above the small cupcake. Natasha cried silently as Clint was saying, "They would've been five today..."

Five years...has it been that long since she held them for the first time? Has it been that long since Laura, Clint's sister would facetime them with the good news of another new word slurred out, or the fact that they could literally run a marathon around the house?

"Has it been that long?" She asked herself out loud this time. She leaned her head onto his shoulder. "Happy birthday, my little angels."

They both blew out the little candle, and sat in silence, neither one admitting to the other that they were crying.


	16. Chapter 16

They decided to leave that next morning, in order to be fully rested and ready for battle.

Of course, no one hardly slept a wink.

Despite they had gone over their plan, backup plan, and backup-backup plan over and over again until they were all blue in the face.

* * *

Nebula and Rocket kept checking and double checking their work on the ship, making sure it was in near perfect condition. It was going to be a long trip back to The Garden.

Nebula clenched her artificial arm, vowing to burn that place to the ground, because he wanted it to be his paradise.

"Not after killing my sister, you don't get a say in anything anymore."

* * *

Clint and Natasha finally crept back to their room, the Black Widow carefully placing the uneaten cupcake on top of the dresser.

After each took a shower, Clint held his arm out then closed his wife protectively in his embrace.

"Whatever happens tomorrow..."

"I know you do." She interrupted. "And so do I...more than anything."

They lay in companionable silence for the rest of the night, eventually falling asleep.

* * *

Thor was sprawled out on the main couch, staring at the TV. He had too much on his mind, and no desire to distract himself till be passed out like he did most nights.

Because most nights did not have to do with the fate of the universe.

With a heavy heart, Thor prayed to his family again, feeling unworthy still. A few moments afterwards, he felt a presence behind him in the kitchen.

"Hey." Carol shyly greeted.

"Hey." He quietly replied.

"Seems to me we have the same lack-of-sleeping habit." She placed herself on the opposite end of the couch, stretching one leg out towards Thor.

Thor could not help himself but admire her natural beauty, as her powers, strength, and skills have already been overly complemented by him.

"Yes, I much prefer praying in the dark, wallowing in self-pity, beating myself up, and scaring-" He clamped his mouth shut, embarrassed to admit that he, too, was actually scared of Thanos.

"He scared me, too." Carol admitted. Thor looked up at her shaky breath. "I thought I could outdo him, just like that, so you could all be ok, and everyone can come back, but..." She shook her head. "He really surprised me."

Thor did not know what else to say.

She continued. "Part of me would have kept going after him, every night. Well, now that we know where he is, I could just go to him right now..." She takes a breath. "...but I'm...I'm _scared_..." Tears fell from her eyes. "I'm really really scared because I don't know for sure that I can stop him."

She turned her head to see Thor kneeling on the ground, looking up at her. He took her hand and kissed it. "It's ok to be scared. It's ok to doubt. That's why we are all here together. I know together, we can stop Thanos. We just haven't found out how yet. These past few months have been so hard, in truth, this year has been the hardest year of my life. I have faith in the AllFathers that they will guide us..."

Carol smiled through her sad eyes, her thumb circling the man's large but gentle hands.

"Thank-you...for everything..." She leaned forward, kissing him sweetly on the cheek.

Thor's heart fluttered. Despite the horrible time he is living in, he felt...warm.

"Anything for you." Thor stretched up and pushed back hair from her face and kissed her.

Carol did not hesitate, pulling him closer to kiss more and more intimately.

On into the night, he collapsed beside her, hugging her close against his bare chest.

* * *

Tony and Steve planned, and argued, and cried, and laughed, and reminisced on literally everything past, present...and the inevitable future.

"Come on, honey." Steve sighed. "We need to try to get a little rest. I know we're scared..."

"I'm fucking terrified." Tony tapped his newly updated arc reactor nervously.

_Is this enough? Am I enough for the big fight?_

"But you know I will be right there to protect you..." Steve kissed Tony, running his fingers through that messy hair he loves so much.

"I know..." _And I will not let him pull one hair off your gorgeous head._

" _Boss?_ " FRIDAY interjects. " _Mr. Lang has sent his ants up through the ventilation system and is headed into the refrigerator._ "

"It's alright, I'm sure Scott made them wash their little legs first before they utterly destroy every nonperishable so he has something good to eat this fine twilight hour."

"Tony, he's just nervous like the rest of us."

"You gotta admit, FRIDAY, that's pretty sick."

" _It could make you sick if you consume their germs and diseases, Boss_."

"You're no fun." Tony pouted. He tried to hide a yawn, but the super soldier picked up on it.

"Alright, come here." Steve forced Tony into his arms, staring at those dark eyes. "I love you so much, Tony."

"I love you more than you'll ever know, Steve...and...tomorrow...this is for Peter...I'm going to do everything I can to bring him back to us."

Steve nodded, feeling a little uneasy.

"Whatever it takes..."


	17. Chapter 17

Carol sat down in the designated copilot seat next to Rocket. Nebula was behind on controls.

There were few other seats available, so Hulk, Thor, and Tony stood while the others strapped in.

The new Iron Man suit was state-of-the-art, still experimental: what better day to do a field test. He nervously placed a hand on Steve's shaky form.

"It's ok, babe. I'm right here."

Steve nodded once sharply. For some reason, that day back before he woke up came back to haunt him, and he was terrified. He had never been to space, a vacuum void of... _air_. Suffocating...just like when he went to sleep, and did not wake up for 65 years. But Tony was right there with him, by his side, wait, no...bent down in front of him looking up into his eyes with such reassurance.

Once they took off, Steve's eyes widened in awe...the initial take-off was terrifying, the g forces throwing them all back. The Hulk's excited roar dulled into the background as Steve took in the beautiful sight of space.

Not two minutes later, it seemed, Rocket flicked some switches, checking with everyone to make sure they all had their special oxygen masks, as the ship orbited above the Garden.

"Looks a bit nice..." Clint jeered. At Natasha's look, he clarified. "If it wasn't housing the biggest bastard known to man."

"Alright, Avengers." Steve commanded. "Let's make one thing perfectly clear: _no one_ is to tackle Thanos alone. We are a team...we stick to the plan." He saw everyone was nervous...ready...but nervous. It reminded him of his time back during the War.

_Let's just hope there's a better outcome this time._

* * *

Thanos brushed his bare hand against a tree, admiring its texture, its age...its story. Life seemed to flourish here in the Garden. All over the universe, the Mad Titan saw more planets improve on their economies, life expectancy, and health. The relief he felt from children with full bellies was overwhelming.

A grateful universe had finally been given what she deserves.

A dull roar alerted him of trouble.

And just when he thought these stubborn fools could not get more annoying.

He ducked too close for comfort, as Stormbreaker spun over his head.

"I see you've learned a valuable lesson, Asgardian!" Thanos turned to see Thor, whose eyes were as bright and hot as the electricity that coursed through his veins.

"I'll never make that mistake again." The God of Thunder roared.

Thanos tried to dodge again, but was stopped by Carol, who also seemed to be on fire, full of rage and- ** _BOOM!_**

Tony landed roughly on the ground after shooting the Titan square in the chest with a huge blast. As he stood up, his new suit opened up like a fan, ready for round two. Steve, Natasha, Clint, and Nebula snuck up from behind Thanos, Rocket hanging out in a tree, a remote in his hand, guns ready to blow from the ship.

Thanos laughed. He looked at Thor. "Seems to me not everyone else has learned their lesson."

The Hulk charged towards him, and everyone had to do a double take as Bruce Banner tumbled forward at the Titan's feet.

"Oh, _shit_." Tony whispered to himself.

"Remember a time, doctor, when you never had to fear hurting those around you? How you wished for more peaceful days... _you're welcome_."

Bruce felt so weak...that dull roar in the back of his head that was always there was gone. He felt...empty...and alone. Nebula grabbed him, shoving him back into the woods, and stared her father figure down.

"Thanos! This ends now!" Nebula shouted.

"It already has." Thanos calmly stated, still cautious of the others around him.

" _You killed my sister_!" She cried.

Thanos shook his head, and everyone was shocked to see tears in his eyes. "Losing her hurt me more than anything else." The Soul Stone brightened up, as if it was Gamora herself crying from beyond the grave. "But her sacrifice ensured the universe's salvation. I-"

"SHUT UP!" Nebula fired her guns, which were easily thwarted. A simple punch almost incapacitated her.

A buzzing sound suddenly alerted him of the one they call Ant-Man. Thanos, using the Reality Stone, turned the army of ants into nothing but pebbles of sand. Scott was diving headfirst into the ground, but grew back to normal size as he somersaulted away from the threat. His helmet came back as he tried to slow his breathing, scared to death of what would happen next.

"You are all gifted with extraordinary intellect and abilities." Thanos continued. "But why attack me, when you should be using these powers for _good_?" He directed his attention to Steve, well, now Tony, who had placed himself protectively in front of him.

"That's what we're trying to do..." Tony answered.

"But Stark, why continue to protect someone who has hurt you so many times? _Lying_ about your parents' deaths; protecting their _murderer_ ; fighting against you every step of the way; abandoning _Peter_ -"

"Do. Not. Say. His. Name." Tony's voice shook with rage. "I warned you."

Carol had enough and jumped onto Thanos' back, arms trying to constrict his neck. Before Thor could get there to help, Thanos used the Power Stone to throw her away, crashing into the trees.

Thanos aimed for Steve, whose shield was up and ready for the attack.

"STEVE!" Tony flew to intercept the blast.

Steve's body screamed with pain. It seemed to drag on and on...he was so tired. He could hear Tony's cries in the background, as if so far away. Opening his eyes, he tried to stand up, but fell back onto wobbly little...

_Oh God..._

Natasha gaped at her friend on all fours...she had heard stories and seen pictures of him before the serum. She turned to Clint, whose mouth was hanging open. He shook his head, not knowing what to do.

Steve tried to stand up again, despite the sudden and imminent need to breathe. Using the shield, which fell off his arm, as a crutch, he shakily stood up, gasping for breath.

"Steve?" Tony came up to him, protectively putting an arm around him.

"He doesn't deserve this enhancement, not after abusing his powers for his own selfish needs." Thanos explained. "Do you deserve to keep your heart, Stark?"

Tony's insides flipped, dreading what would happen, but instead, a tiny man with a big shield absorbed the blast, particles of vibranium shattering at their feet. Steve collapsed, too weak from the stunt he pulled. But Tony was right there to catch him.

"You just don't know when to give up, do you?" Tony had tears in his eyes.

Steve struggled to take a breath to respond. "I can do this all day."


	18. Chapter 18

Steve continued to wheeze as Tony struggled to figure out what to do. He saw a glimpse of Natasha and Clint run with Scott back to the ship to get Rocket's big gun ready, but they were once again, in over their head.

"THAAAAANOOOOOOS!" Thor charged at him, Thanos using all six Infinity Stones to fight the power of Stormbreaker off. His feet dug into the soil as the Asgardian warrior would not give in. _I will avenge them!_

"Tony..." Steve managed. Tony put up a protective shield from his suit between them and Thanos. "I...love you..."

"Don't." Tony shook his head. "It's not over yet...we...we can do this..."

"Yes...you can..." He pulled Tony down for a weak kiss. "Give him hell."

Tony sent his helmet to Steve to keep oxygen flowing for him. "Keep him alive, FRIDAY."

" _Yes, Boss_."

Iron Man powered up another blast from the arc reactor, ignoring the burning sensation around his chest. Carol took advantage of Thanos' distraction and went for the gauntlet. With a quick punch, she bought herself a quick second to wrap herself around his throat, her foot pressing into his palm.

_Don't let him close his fist._

"THOR!" Carol was not sure how long she could hold the Titan down, but he knew what to do. Rolling away from the power of the blast, he swung Stormbreaker and...

The Gauntlet landed with a thump to the ground.

Thanos cried out in pain, then like a raged animal, clawed his way to the golden prize.

"This universe cannot survive like before! _I_ am the one who saved us all! You _will_ -" He was shot back by the big gun, Rocket pumping his fist into the air, as Clint, Natasha, and Scott went to get Steve onto the ship.

Carol seized the gauntlet and flew up out of the line of fire. Disgusted, she pulled the dismembered arm out of the case and threw it away.

Tony walked slowly up to the Mad Titan, trying his best to keep calm as he wanted to make this as slow and painful as possible. But there was no messing around with this guy. He could not take any chances.

Thanos laughed. "I am...inevitable..."

Tony formed a scythe-like blade out of plasma from his suit. He never lost eye contact. "And I am Iron Man." With a swipe, the Mad Titan was terminated.

Tony thought he would be at least a little satisfied...but he felt so sick to his stomach upset, for the only thing he still worried about was healing Steve and bringing everyone back.

"Carol, wait! What are you doing?!" Thor shouted. "We've won! Let's go home, and figure this out together!"

The rest of the Avengers turned to see Carol staring at the Stones...

"I can do it! I can bring them back!"

"What!? _No_!" Thor jumped up to the shack Thanos was supposedly living in to see her eye to eye. "Please, just...let's all take a minute..."

"The Tessaract made me what I am..." She looked unknowingly at the Stones again. "I'm strong enough."

Thor was not sure if she was. But he did not want to say whether she was or not, as the only reason being, it could kill her.

"This isn't one stone, it's _all_ of them. All of the power of the universe... _please_..."

Carol stared at him, fighting herself. It was stupid and rash, but at the same time, who else could do it? And she cannot put Thor through anymore pain, so he definitely would not be allowed to go near this thing.

"I'm sorry..." Thor jumped to grab her, but was too late as she slid her hand inside. Carol dropped to the ground, a wave of power throwing everyone back.

"Carol?"

She squeezed her eyes shut, the power immensely overwhelming. But it was so painful, moreso than when she had supposedly felt when the Tessaract made her all those years ago. She thought hard about Thor's family, Tony's son, Fury, every life that was cut off too short...

Carol looked up, her eyes ablaze, and Thor was crying, but praying for her safety. Everyone around her froze, not sure what to expect.

And then she snapped.

* * *

The flight home was anything but pleasant, despite their supposed victory. Rocket pushed the ship past her limits to get them all back home. Carol was not responding...Steve had trouble breathing...

They needed a miracle.

Bruce, still a little shaken, pulled himself together and got to work, barking orders to everyone to help him get these two stable.

Steve's condition worsened as time went on. Not many realized that not only did he have asthma, but the man before the serum had suffered from scarlet fever, ulcers, rheumatic fever, scoliosis...and he was anemic.

Everyone was shocked...how did he survive back then?

Tony drove himself into the ground, trying to figure out what to do. All he could do was hope and-

A familiar buzz of static took everyone's attention. They turned to see a ring of light form in the doorway of the medic wing of the Tower.

And in walks Doctor Strange, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and-

" _DAD!_ "

Tony could have sworn he was dreaming...it worked?! He never put two and two together after Carol snapped, but...IT WORKED?!

"Peter?" His knees gave out on him as he could barely open up his arms to embrace his son..."I thought I lost you..."

"Dad! You did it? You won!"

"I...think so...Peter...you're...is this real?"

"Yes, Dad! Doctor Strange explained everything, but I thought I just passed out after some trippy bad dream, but then as soon as we woke up, he was like, 'Come on, it's been about six months, and they really need us right now!' And I was like, 'Who?' And he's like..." Peter suddenly looked around, noticing where they were. "Where's Pops? Are y'all? Um..."

"We're fine, son." Tony could barely keep it together. "That is ancient history. I swear I will never put you through anything like that again."

"We're still a family?"

Tony hesitated, then squeaked a reply. "Yeah..."

"Well, what happened...where is he?"

Tony led Peter to a window, where Steve was on life support. "Do you remember how he wasn't always like this?"

"Yeah, it's my favorite story..." Peter took a good look at him, and realized. " _No_...nonononono..."

"Hey hey hey...look at me. It's ok. We're going to figure this out."

"Yes, we will." Tony turned to see Strange had put on some scrubs, carefully looking at the gauntlet.

"What are you doing?"

"Righting a wrong." Stephen sighed. "Tony, I'm sorry about all of this. I wanted to tell you what I saw in the future, but if I did, none of it would have happened."

Tony nodded quickly. "Also, can you check your other patient? That woman next door down gave her life to bring everyone back. And she is the most powerful one out of all of us, no offense, Doc."

"I don't need them all...I just need the Time Stone."

They all prayed it would be enough...


	19. Chapter 19

Natasha gripped Clint's hand a little too tight when she saw Doctor Strange walk by.

_Did it really work? Are my babies ok?_

Clint excused themselves, and they stepped out, heading towards their room. They shut the door, wanting their privacy, and with Natasha's head nod, Clint dialed the phone.

It rang a couple times, feeling like an eternity to them.

"... _Hello? Clint?! Are y'all ok? I just...what's going on?_ " Laura, Clint's sister, sounded so confused.

Clint took a second, fighting back tears. "Everything's ok, now. I'll explain everything later...um..." He looked to Natasha for support.

"Hi, Laura." Natasha quietly greeted, leaning into the phone slightly. "Can I..."

" _Oh, honey, yes, but they just passed out. Last thing I remember, they were driving me up the wall, so I sung them your lullaby, and they...hang on._ " They could hear her whispering, then a few moments later, as Clint and Natasha held their breaths, he got another notification on his phone. " _Here, I will call as soon as they wake up._ "

"Thank-you." Clint told her. He nodded a couple times, confirming things, Natasha barely keeping it together to see that picture. Her big eyes begged him to hurry, and Clint pulled it up. They both looked at their children for the first time in months.

Natasha burst into tears, Clint handing her the phone and guiding her to their bed. He held her in his arms as they both stared at the picture in silence until they fell asleep from pure exhaustion.

* * *

Tony wrapped his arm tighter around Peter, praying this was still not a dream, as they both nervously waited for the results.

Stephen and Bruce worked carefully as they prepared to use the Time Stone on Steve, who had received the proper treatment and medication with the help from FRIDAY so he could remain stable while they debated what to do to bring him back to his enhanced self.

"I can't remember exactly...it all happened so fast...I'm not sure if the Power Stone was used as well...or maybe the Reality because of...I don't know, I'm sorry." Bruce rubbed his temples, anxiously looking between his friend and the doctor.

Stephen thought for a moment. "It's all right. I've never lost a patient." He looked out the window to the father and son duo on the bench.

Tony's heart raced, realizing that was meant for him. He felt more reassured he could trust that Steve was in the best hands. He believed in him. After all, without Stephen, Tony nor the rest of the Avengers could have ever defeated Thanos and brought everyone back.

"Come on, son." Tony got up and stretched his back, popping several joints and moaning in pain. "Dad's gotta stretch his legs, and I desperately need some coffee."

"But Pops?" Peter got up, pointing back behind them. "I don't want to leave him." He teared up.

Tony turned around and walked back to Peter and hugged him tight. He ran a hand through that thick brown hair that was just like his own, missing it so much. "I promise we're _never_ going to leave. Your Pops is going to be all right. I trust these two more than anybody. And FRIDAY will call if anything happens."

" _Yes, of course, Boss_."

Tony raised his brow. "And if I know my son, which I do, I know that he is constantly hungry, clawing at the walls to eat moreso than most kids his age because of that pesky little alter ego-"

"Ok, yeah, you're right, Dad." Peter laughed, realizing that, as a matter of fact, he was starving.

"I always am." Tony smiled. Throwing his arm around Peter, they both walked down the hall.

* * *

Thor kissed Carol's hand, rubbing softly her smooth skin between his big hands.

"You know, my mother would have adored you." He teared up. "Because you two are just alike...maybe too much alike. Brave, confident...and one of the most remarkable women I have ever had the honor of knowing." He silently prayed again as Carol's vitals continued to slowly tick by, a little too dimly for the doctors' comfort. He had been told she might not wake up for a long time.

"I'm never going to leave you." Thor promised. "I'm afraid you're stuck with me..." He stared at her, willing her to wake up. "...please don't leave me too." Thor's voice broke as he cried again.

* * *

" _Boss, you have a visitor. It's King T'Challa._ " Tony and Peter shot up, fearing it was news on Steve, but was relieved it was good news all the same.

"King?!" Peter asked.

"Yeah, king." Tony swallowed hard. He had never had the chance to apologize and talk to the man about what happened during their little civil war amongst each other. But he owed it to him and to his sister to at least give his condolences for the loss of their father.

Down in the lobby waited the king, his arms clasped behind his back, standing tall. He turned to see the two walking towards him.

"Your highness." Tony greeted, Peter unsure of what to say or do.

_Do I bow?_

"Please, you don't have to do that." T'Challa laughed as Peter realized with horror in his eyes that he was bowing, and feeling like an idiot he quickly stood up.

"Sorry...um, nice to meet you. I'm Peter."

"You're the Spider-boy?" T'Challa mused.

"Man. He's a big boy now." Tony corrected jokingly. He winked to Peter. "So, can I get you anything? Coffee? Scotch? A bowl of milk?"

"You are a funny one." T'Challa raised a mocking eyebrow. "I am fine, I just wanted to come see how the captain was doing. He is my friend, and if there is anything I can do to help, please..."

"How did you know so quickly?" Tony wondered.

T'Challa smiled. "I must confess after our, dispute, I have been keeping tabs on you and those that were, on the run through your very polite AI."

"FRIDAY?" Tony asked, a little nervously.

" _Yes, Boss?_ "

"Um...care to explain uh..."

T'Challa laughed, shaking his head. "I'm kidding. After we all came back, I just knew in my heart that something so grand must have happened. My people explained what went on...I wanted to apologize-"

"No." Tony interrupted. T'Challa was surprised, but let him continue. "I'm the one who should apologize, as I was the one who was a bit of a hot head."

"None of us handled that situation the right way." T'Challa explained. "We let one man get between us and how we settle our differences like men. We are better than that." He placed a hand on Tony's shoulder. "There is nothing to forgive. We can only prevent that from ever happening again." Looking to Peter, he smiled again. "You are quite the athlete, young man. Where did you learn all of that?"

Peter blushed a little. "Well, my Pops used to train me every day..." With Tony's look, he explained a little more detail. "After I got caught trying to hide my powers by sneaking out at night."

"I saw them all." T'Challa smiled. "If your father ever needs any vibranium, I'm sure I can supply some for an upgrade."

Peter's eyes got big with shock. He turned to Tony, who he could tell was itching to get his hands on more of the stuff.

"Well, I would love to play with your toys, so any time, just give me a call." Tony said.

"I will hold you to that. You have a great mind, Mr. Stark."

"Please, call me Tony."

"Tony." T'Challa nodded.

"Care to join us for some coffee? I'm on my third pot. Been a long night."

T'Challa sighed. "I am so sorry for what you are all going through right now. I am praying for a quick recovery. But Steve Rogers, he is a fighter, he is strong, and with you as his rocks to hold onto...he will overcome this."

Tony and Peter felt good hearing that, wishing it could happen sooner rather than later.


	20. Chapter 20

Tony could not recall anything that happened the past few hours. All he knew was Peter, his son, was holding his hand, and his husband, Steve Rogers-Stark, was hanging on by a thread on the other side of that glass. He could have sworn Bruce and Stephen were talking to him about Infinity Stones, those stupid rocks that started all of this mess, but what he heard was all white noise.

_Am I in shock or something?_

Supposedly, the Avengers all agreed that the best thing for Steve was to just let them go for it, and use the Stones to try to undo what Thanos had done. But the time for talking and speculating was over.

They were doing it.

Stephen looked at his phone, picking "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison. Who knew he and Starlord had something in common? Great taste in music. Bruce would have preferred absolute silence, but knew the man needed to step center stage for something so tedious, and if this was how he saved lives, then Bruce was going to let him.

Starlord sat down on the other side of Peter, patting him comfortably on the back, the rest of the Guardians waiting in anticipation. Clint and Natasha huddled off to the side. Even Thor came to support his friend, but itching to get back to Carol's room in case she woke up.

Stephen levitated the Time Stone, pausing when it was right in front of him. He turned to look at Tony one last time, Tony giving him the final nod of approval. Stephen turned to Bruce, who raised his eyebrows, as the surgical masks were covering most of their faces. Seeing Steve so small and helpless, the doctor pushed past all feelings of remorse for what he had put them through and moved the Time Stone equally between Steve and himself.

Bruce confirmed with FRIDAY all vitals, checking the scans on the computer.

Everyone held their breath.

"I love you..." Tony whispered. A tear fell down his cheek.

Holding his breath, Stephen Strange twisted his hand counter-clockwise. It was difficult, like trying to push a semi without assistance. Beads of sweat fell into his eyes as he strained to keep focus. His mind willed himself and the Stone to keep going, back to where this man should be.

They could not believe their eyes.

_Hallelujah._

Green symbols of an ancient language surrounded Steve, to the point where it was almost blinding to look at. The doctor's hands started shaking, and for a moment, Stephen panicked. Call it PTSD, but at this point, he really did not care about his hands right now. He owed it to this man, who helped save the world more times than he realized.

_Hallelujah._

Time is a funny thing. One person can change the course of history. And that was why every single member of these Avengers was so important. Every tiny thing they did brought tomorrow a new hope. Every decision they made, whether good or bad, eventually brought them here, to this moment.

And afterwards, they could finally rest.

Stephen kept shaking, he could feel his whole body about to collapse. This was a lot harder than an apple.

The last thing he remembered was seeing the super soldier once again take in a big breath before his world went black.

* * *

Tony leapt to his feet and bolted through the door, Bruce trying to process what just happened, check on Stephen, and keep Tony back. He chose Stephen, as Steve's vitals sky-rocketed to better than normal.

He was back! The serum was back! And FRIDAY confirmed that there were no signs of disease or decay of his once withering body.

"Steve?" Tony fell to his knees, gently stroking blonde hair. "You're all right now. It's ok. You don't have to wake up, just...I want you to know that you're all right."

He scooted over, allowing Peter to get beside him.

"Pops?" The boy's voice was embarrassingly higher than normal. "It's me, Peter...your son." He choked on that last word. "I've missed you so much. We won! I'm back, everybody is back now. We're all together again, just like the good ol' days." Peter cut himself off, as he deemed himself too cheesy to speak anymore. He squeezed Steve's hand and held it for a moment.

Then he almost jumped through the ceiling.

"Dad!"

Tony jumped himself, whipping his head around. "What's wrong?" Panic filled his eyes.

"I squeezed his hand." A hoarse voice whispered.

Tony could not take much more. Honestly, he would be perfectly fine with retiring from saving the universe every other day.

He blinked a wave of tears down his face. "...Steve?"

"Hey, honey." Steve smiled that crooked half smile that made Tony want to roll over.

"Are you..."

"I'm ok. Like you said." He used his other hand to pull Tony close for a kiss. "You're always right, remember?"

Tony laughed, letting out a pathetic sob.

"My friends." Thor knelt down on the other side of the bed, turning their attention to the young god. "This is a wonderful day, our prayers have been answered!" He laid his hand on Steve's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze.

"Thank-you, Thor." Steve smiled.

"Uncle Thor!"

"By Odin's beard, COME HERE MY LITTLE SPIDER!" Peter vaulted across the foot of the bed, Thor catching him and spinning him around like he used to do when he was smaller. "WELCOME BACK!"

"It's good to be back, I thought I just passed out after having the worst stomach ache..." He turned to see his dads together, happy at last. After all this time.

"What's all the fuss about?" Clint walks again, a huge smile on his face. Peter almost knocks the archer over with a bear hug, but took it easy as Natasha kissed him on the head, embracing him as more tears appeared from her.

She was so happy to have all of her babies back safe and sound.

"How are you feeling, Steve?" Bruce came over, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "Breathing ok? Let me check your heart and lungs real quick."

Tony forced himself to give his friend some space, as they all came to find out that Steve was perfectly healthy again. He noticed Stephen was missing. Maybe he had gone to check on Carol?

Going down the hallway, he heard a crash and ran around the corner.

"Hey! Ok, come here." Tony reached down and helped the fallen man up, his hands shaking, breath heavy and labored. He sat him down on a small couch.

"I...was just going...to, uh, check on..."

"Yeah, ok. Take a second. You deserve a timeout...not too literally, I should say."

" _I am Groot?_ " They turned to see Groot, game nowhere to be found, with his head cocked to the side.

"Um...Tony Stark." He awkwardly waved as the teenager rolled his eyes and walked off.

"Tony..." Tony focused back on the doctor. "I am so sorry about all of this. I knew everything that was going to happen, even up to this moment. That's as far as I got. I-"

"I'm going to stop you right there." _How dare he stress me out overnight, not telling me he knew the outcome of not only how they won, but how he was able to bring Steve back no problem. Could've saved him an ulcer._ "You saved our lives." Tony began. He teared up. "You saved my life just now. Because I can't live without that man in there nor my son. I owe you everything."

Stephen smirked. "So sentimental."

Tony sniffed. "This does _not_ leave us. Or I will ruin you. I have a reputation to maintain."

"So do I."

To Stephen's surprise, Tony hugged him. "Thank-you."

"You're welcome..."

Tony could feel the slightest vibrate, and pulled back to notice Stephen's hands were shaking.

"What's wrong? Was it the Stone?"

He shook his head. "That took a lot out of me. I always use some energy to keep my hands steady, as they will never be permanently healed." At Tony's look of curiosity, he said, "For another time. I'm just...so weak right now, I can't..."

"I got it. You're beat." Tony stepped back, offering his hand to help him up. "Why don't you go lay down for a while?"

"I need to check on-"

"I can help Bruce with her." Tony cut in. "Please. I don't need you passing out on me during dinner tonight."

Stephen sighed. "I need to return to the Sanctum."

"Wong has been doing just fine. If he can survive six months, he can survive a bit longer till you are back on your feet again. I can send a letter via owl for you."

Stephen rolled his eyes. "You really are a handful, Stark."

"That's why they love me."

* * *

Tony was making his way back to Steve's room when he suddenly heard a shriek, followed shortly by Thor sprinting down the hall from where he just came from.

_I swear, one more surprise, and the arc reactor is going to short circuit._

Thor slammed the door open a little too roughly to find Carol had supposedly thrown herself off the bed. He bent down slowly, not wanting to startle her anymore than she already was.

"Carol? Look at me, look at me."

Big, terrified eyes shot to him, then went in all different directions before settling onto the floor in between them.

Why was her arm on fire? She inspected it, confirming that it really was not engulfed in flames, it just hurt really bad.

"It's all right." Thor slowly laid his hand on her shoulder. "You're ok. You just have a few minor injuries here and there."

"...Thor?" She tried to clear her throat and twitched in shock as she realized Thor had quickly offered her a glass of water. Her lips tentatively engulfed the end of the straw.

"Slowly, slowly." He pulled it away, which she did not appreciate. "Come on, let's get you back up." He slowly got her up onto her feet, and without hardly taking away support, her legs gave out and she fell into his chest. "Ok...ok..." He laughed softly. Gently picking her up, she was back on the bed, followed by pillows and blankets.

She sighed feeling so comfortable, but was still so confused.

"Thor?"

"Yes, my love?"

She fought back tears. "Did it work?"

Thor teared up as well. He kissed her forehead. "...Yes...yes, _you_ did it. Everyone is reunited, all over the universe..." He looked down, and lowered his voice. "You scared me to death, though. I thought I had lost you. But...you are a lot stronger than I ever gave you credit for."

Carol sobbed, reaching for Thor who obliged by hugging her gently.

"They're ok."

"Yes. But what about you?"

"I feel..." She really did not know. She felt lost again, like a part of her was hidden away, and she could not find it. She felt empty.

She felt...

"Carol?" Thor coaxed. "You're shaking." He wrapped a blanket around her, getting up to reposition himself against the bed, pulling her back down into his chest.

"I...I don't know what's wrong with me..."

"Nothing is wrong with you. Whatever made you think that?"

"I think my powers are gone..."


	21. Chapter 21

Thor heard Carol cry again, which broke his heart.

"I...there's nothing..."

_What's given can be taken away._

"No...no, that's not..." Thor tried to comfort her.

" _Without us, you're weak. You're flawed. Helpless...without us, you are only human._ " It angered her years ago to hear that. Now...it is a horrifying truth.

"Hey, stop that..." Thor gently scolded. "What are you saying? None of these things are true."

"They weren't yesterday." Carol pulled away, turning to face him. "I don't regret what I did. I...it was the right thing to do, I just... _now what?_ "

Thor took her hand, and kissed it. "Now, we rest, we celebrate everyone's return, thanks to you. We enjoy each other's company..." He looked eager, really almost desperate on that last part. He had fallen head over heals in love with her.

After being lost all this time, who knew that finding love could just happen almost instantly?

She shook her head. "All my life, this _current_ life I was living...I have been constantly trying to prove myself worthy of-"

Thor interrupted her again, but with a kiss. "You. Are. Worthy." He laughed. "And I should know, I'm a bit of an expert."

"Oh really?" Carol raised an eyebrow. For the first time in forever, she felt like she could finally let go and be herself and just breathe and laugh and live.

It was so freeing.

"I love you..." She slowly went in for another kiss as he enveloped her into his strong arms.

Thor only broke away long enough to reciprocate.

* * *

Bruce hung up on Scott with a small smile on his face. He was happy for the man. Never for himself, but a family was very important for people to get through this crazy life. And the fact that Scott was such a good father to his little girl, well, that little conversation just made Bruce's day.

He went down to where Stephen Strange was supposedly resting.

"Knock knock." Bruce smiled as he saw the doctor was meditating. "Sorry to interrupt..."

"No, it's all right, come in." Stephen slowly got up and sat down on the bed.

"How is everything?"

"Well, Steve seems to have made a full recovery, to my disbelief, and even more shocking is Carol seems to have-"

"I'm talking about you." Bruce raised a knowing eyebrow. "I know doctors are the worst patients."

"I'm fine. I just got a little winded having to literally reverse the curse of one of the most powerful objects in the entire multiverse-"

"Multiverse?" Bruce got curious, but quickly regressed. "For another time. Anyways, so you're ok? No side effects?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's _fine_." Stephen reiterated.

"Ok..." Bruce looked down to the left. "Pick up that pencil. I want your autograph...from the man who helped save the universe."

At Bruce's smug smile, Stephen huffed. He stared down at the pencil like it was a bomb. "Sure." To his own shock, he picked up the utensil no problem, but by the time he got to the letter "h" it was all over. He was shaking so hard, he slammed it down onto the desk.

Bruce did not say anything for a minute. He felt awful for the man, but pity parties were not going to help this stubborn fool.

"Stephen?"

" _What?_ " He annoyingly replied.

"Just take it easy, ok? You've been gone six months, and as soon as you're brought back, we just had our asses kicked for the third time now, and you had to perform a _major_ life-threatening procedure on a man barely hanging on..." Bruce placed a hand on his shoulder. "Rest. Please. Otherwise, you're going to cause a lot more permanent damage to yourself than you already have."

Stephen nodded slowly, trying to hide his weaknesses and frustrations as Bruce left to give him some time to recover.

* * *

Peter snuggled down on the big sofa in the living room between his dads. It was so good to be home again.

"This is nice." He commented.

Steve ruffled his hair and Tony patted him on the back of the head. "It sure is, Pete."

Steve cut his eyes to Tony. "How are you feeling, Tony?"

"Hey, I'm not the one who literally went back in time and almost _died_ ok, so I am not obligated to answer such a ridiculous question." He hugged Peter and gave Steve a warm smile. "I've never been better, if anyone's asking."

Steve rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, Pops, you were _tiny_ , that's gotta be a bit weird to just suddenly be back to, you know, _huge_." Peter said.

"I'm good." Steve nodded. "I promise, I'm still a little bit exhausted, is all. But don't worry about me, I'll bounce back in no time."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Steve, we literally just saved the fu- _dging_ universe. Take a day off. From the nightly workouts."

"I go at four in the morning."

"While it's still dark outside, and I've barely fallen asleep at that point."

Peter laughed. He had missed this so much. After two years of high tensions and terrible memories, he was so grateful to have everything back as it should be. He flipped the TV on and searched for a movie that his Pops desperately needed to see. There was a long list of things he unfortunately missed out on.

* * *

Back home, Natasha pulled the blankets up tighter around her sleeping babies. Tears of joy streamed down her sharp cheeks as she just watched them sleep in her arms.

Clint sat back down with a bag of chips from the kitchen, turning the game down so as not to disturb them.

"Everything ok?" He asked his wife.

"Everything is perfect."

She would be fine with spending the rest of her days right here, in this moment.


	22. Chapter 22

Tony confirmed the order with FRIDAY, past exhaustion from just running around the compound, trying to make sure every pizza under the Tuscan sun was ordered.

Who knew everyone was so picky?

He went down to the workshop to go over his infinite to-do list, when he was alerted someone was at the door. He frowned, thinking he had everyone an access code to get in, but realized once he turned around that no, he had forgotten, some of these people were...new additions to the team.

Carol shyly waved, arms wrapped around herself, out of nerves or cold, Tony could not tell. They were all shocked she had survived, as the odds were definitely not in anyone's favor. But the scientist in Tony had to oggle at the miracle that was now walking towards him, scared to death.

"Hey, I just ordered dinner. Everything ok?" Tony fiddled around with stuff on the desk, his mind going in eighty different directions.

"Yeah...I feel a little better today, just..." _Weak. Useless_. "...still tired."

"I'd be concerned if you weren't." Tony smirked. "I haven't gotten the chance to tell you...well, _thank-you_. That was stupidly brave of you to do what you did. I thought we had decided to just kill the son of a bitch, and take it back to contemplate over long, sleepless nights and tons of coffee."

"I was...in the moment, I guess." Carol shrugged it off like it was no big deal. "Tony..."

"Hey, I thought we had this conversation. About the bedroom?" She nodded shamefully. "It's over. You brought my son back. I could kiss you, you're like, my _fifth_ favorite person right now, but Thor might kill me." She blushed.

"I'm so glad you have your family back." She teared up a little. "I'm sorry, I just. I don't know what's wrong with me, I'm so emotional...I wasn't always allowed to feel, if you know what I mean."

"Oh, yeah, I'm the world's worst. Bottling things up, pretending I'm perfect, which I am, but with minor flaws here and there, just ask Steve." Tony snarked off. "It's ok. You and I are good. You're part of the team. Part of the family." He smiled. "And hey, just between you and me, if you ever want someone to talk to, Bruce is an excellent listener, except for me when he falls asleep, he's really not that kind of doctor. Also, Sam is literally trained to listen, if you want. No pressure."

"I really don't think that's necessary, I'm not crazy..."

"I never wanted to imply that." Tony walked a little closer. "Between you and me, Steve still occasionally goes to talk with Sam, even though it's been like, seven years since he woke up from his ice nap. He's tried to get me to go, and I caved a couple of times, but I'm just too stubborn and I can tell you are too." She snorted. "Yeah, you're too much just like me...we sometimes overdo it to protect those closest to us." Carol stiffened when he placed a hand on her shoulder. "And that's ok...just, we are allowed to ask for help every now and then. Trust me, I checked the rule book."

She laughed. "Thanks, Tony. I really appreciate it. I feel a lot better about staying now."

"And why wouldn't you be? You're an Avenger, hell, you coined our name, according to your file."

"My file?"

"Yeah, Fury had on file with your picture: the word 'Avenger' with your name on the plane. Pretty neat, if you ask me."

Carol smiled, shaking her head. "He really is something, isn't he?"

"If you say so, he can be a pain in the ass." Tony said.

"I still don't know this Fury you speak of. He's a sweetheart." She laughed again as Tony made fake gagging noises.

"Whatever, go on upstairs, I'm sure Thor is missing you terribly."

"Actually, he and Peter are playing a video game right now."

"Why am I not surprised? They are going to become couch potatoes by the end of the year, mark my word." Tony shut down his computers for the night, and motioned for Carol to exit the lab first, like the gentleman he sometimes tried to be.

"NonononononoNOOOOOOOOOO!" Thor yelled as Peter had slipped a banana peel under his tire. "I was about to surpass you to victory!"

"And now you're in last place!" Peter laughed.

"I demand a rematch!"

"You're on! Rainbow Bridge again?"

"I _always_ welcome a challenge!"

Tony plopped onto the ground next to Peter, probably giving him a cheat code or some weird strategy that he just shook his head over. "Dad, I don't need that to beat Uncle Thor. He's too _easy_!"

"I heard that! And you will face my wrath!" Carol laughed as Thor pulled her down into his lap, his arms closing around her with the controls in front. She had never seen such a complex remote. Technology really has come a long way, especially in the fun department.

" _IS THAT MARIO?_ " Carol was shocked to see the little plummer in such great...quality. And he was a racer now?

"Yeah! He has so many games now to choose from, we have all of them! You can try the next round. I just want to beat Thor again."

"In your dreams, Starkson!" Thor kissed Carol on the cheek for good luck, and they were off!

He won that round, as Peter accidentally went too fast on a turn and fell off the track into the abyss.

"Aw, man!"

"FOR ASGAAAAAARD!" Thor playfully shoved Peter, who went to go grab a third remote.

"Here." He handed it to Carol, who grinned from ear to ear. This took her back to those hours she spent with Lieutenant Trouble playing games till Maria would make them quit because it was a school night and they had to test those new planes and...

"Are you ok?" She blinked back to the present to see Thor look a little concerned.

"Yeah, just remembering when we used to play a game like this. Well, not really, just the same characters."

"Well, like I said, we have _all_ of them, even the really really old ones."

"Hey?!" Carol mockingly sounded offended. "I'm not _that_ old!"

"Don't worry, he calls me grandpa every other day." Tony said. "It's a teenager thing."

"I still love you, Dad."

"Love you too." Tony said in a sarcastic voice, meaning it more literally than ever before.

* * *

One hour later, as the other Avengers settled in the dining room, Tony had to pry the controls out of the three super strong pairs of hands. Needless to say, he did not have to worry about not working out this week.

Tony just wanted to eat. And he knew if he did not feed Thor and Peter soon, and a lot of it, well, he would be up at 2 am ordering more pizza because they would not stop whining to him about how hungry they were.

Babysitting superheroes is hard. Thank Odin's glorious beard he was a billionaire.

They all gathered around the giant table for a nice family dinner of only the best of pizzas, pasta, and breadsticks.

There was never a happier moment for them.


	23. Chapter 23

"I don't know about this, Peter..." Steve looked anxiously up above their chase lounge in the bedroom at Peter, stringing up a complex spiderweb, like a hammock.

"Did you make sure _both_ ends are secure to the walls?" Tony asked for the fifth time, his eyebrows raised.

"Yes, Dad, I'm positive."

"Ok, cause I'm not waking up the Hulk in the middle of the night with a busted head."

"Tony..." Steve scolded.

"Yes, dear?" He sing-songed back.

"Get a room!" Peter threw his pillow down onto his face.

"Um...we _did_? This is _our_ room. And it's only because we love you that we are allowing you sleeping privileges for an undetermined amount of time." Tony kissed Steve just to hear his son groan again.

"I think I'll just choose insomnia. I have super-strength, I can handle it." Peter decided.

"That's not an excuse, Peter." Steve lectured. "Even I need my beauty sleep." He shoved Tony on the bed, laughing at the face Tony gave him.

"Ok, goodnight!" Peter flipped over to face the wall, blanket wrapped tightly around him.

"Love you." Both fathers replied back.

* * *

Later that night, however, Peter woke up in a panic.

"I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go...please, please, Dad! Dad?"

As Peter, sure enough, fell out of his homemade bed, Tony caught him in a clumsy bridal style that brought them both to the floor. Steve jumped out of bed to check on them.

"Dad? Wha-what's going on?"

"Peter, it's ok. I am right here." Tony firmly took Peter's shaking hand and pressed it against the arc reactor, the slight hum and light already starting to calm the boy down. Peter blinked a couple of times, and just focused on the light, feeling the vibration through his fingertips.

Steve watched in anticipation. This was going to be a long road, but he did not care. He would be there every step of the way with his son and his husband. He would never abandon them again, as long as he lived.

"You're right here...at home, with me and Pops, yeah? You understand?" Tony was so patient with him. Steve admired him for that. As much as Tony has suffered through his life, he still somehow was the most caring person he had ever met.

Peter nodded, trying to slow down his breathing. Steve crawled around and started rubbing soothing circles into his back.

A few moments later, Peter started crying.

"I just got so scared...I thought I was going away again..."

"No, no, Peter. Come here..." Peter was pulled into both of his father's arms, the cries muffled by their bodies closing into each other. "That will never happen to you or anyone ever again. We made sure of it. I _promise_ , you are safe. Everything is ok..." Tony paused, then laughed to himself.

_Are you trying to convince Peter or yourself, big shot?_

They stayed like that for a while, then Peter crawled into bed between them like when he was little. And thankfully, they slept soundly through the rest of the night...together.

* * *

Bruce chugged back the Niquel he always insisted on taking, especially this time of year. He was hoping for a peaceful sleep tonight, especially now knowing that everyone was well and accounted for.

Clint and Natasha were coming over for the weekend, and the nervousness he felt because they were bringing the kids was enough to keep him awake, despite this past year or so with the Hulk being...difficult. But ever since he became a part of the Avengers, he and the Hulk have gotten, better, albeit there were a few accidents here and there.

He heard a knock and told them to come in. He was surprised to see Stephen in his doorway, looking as if he was in trouble.

"Look, I wanted to apologize for being...well, uncooperative, and, I know you were all just-"

"Hey, Doc, it's ok. You don't ever have to apologize to me for anything. I'm the one who holds the record for most apologies needing to be given." Bruce offered up the sofa to Stephen, who obliged. "What's going on? It's almost three in the morning."

"I don't think anyone here can sleep after what all has happened."

"Of course, and with the big reunion coming up this weekend." Bruce took a sip of tea, trying to get that nasty medicine taste out of his mouth. "But I thought you liked that sort of thing."

"That was before all of... _this_." Stephen looked at his shaking hands like they were a curse, and Bruce suddenly understood why he came to see him.

"Meditation's not working?"

Stephen gave him a look. He hated not being the one with all of the answers.

"Here, let me make you some tea, and we can talk."

Stephen snorted, shaking his head. "I don't need a guru..."

"No, you just need a friend who will listen to you." Bruce smiled as he got up to pour his new friend a glass.

"Shot of whiskey?"

"You came to the wrong bedroom for that." Bruce laughed. "Here. It's supposed to help with the nerves."

"Yes, I know. This is one of the many things I learned at Kamar-Taj." Strange smiled fondly, remembering his first encounter with The Ancient One, and how his life was now completely different from what he had originally planned.

They talked on through the night, Stephen desperately needing the time, and Bruce welcoming the company.

* * *

Carol stepped out of the bathtub, careful to keep her burnt arm from getting wet. She hated being held back, and this, this was almost just as bad as being told no by so many people in her past lives.

Thor was sprawled out on the bed, watching TV, when he asked FRIDAY to stop the video as he noticed Carol enter the bedroom.

"You really are beautiful." He stared at her admiringly.

Carol blushed. She threw her bandaged arm up, crashing it down to her side, and she winced pathetically. "You're just trying to butter me up."

"Maybe." Thor rolled over and got off the bed. "Or, perhaps I'm the most honest person in the Nine Realms. Seriously, if my brother were here, he would know." Thor's smile broke only slightly, but Carol caught it.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to take your word for it, then." She looked up into his eyes, realizing how lucky she was to find someone to just be with. Even though she was...

"What are you thinking about that has made you so sad?" Thor sat down onto the bed, his hand holding her free one.

"Thor...you're..." _Really? Tears? So weak..._ "You're too good for me, I can't...you deserve to be happy..."

"And I am, whatever is the matter, why shouldn't I be? I have you..."

"...Not _all_ of me..." She whispered. She tried to pull away, but he would not let her.

"Carol." Thor shook his head. "The moment I laid eyes on you, I knew there was something special about you. Yes, you are so beautiful, but I was smitten by your...your..."

"Powers?"

"Gods, no! I had no idea you could do the things you could do until we were sparring."

"You saw my eyes flicker."

"And it got me curious. Stop arguing with me, please." He kissed her hand, like the prince he was. "I love _you_ , Carol. _You_ , the woman who doesn't know when to quit, the one who's willing to jump head-first to the rescue when she doesn't even know who needs saving, the one who's so worried about everyone else's happiness, she..." He stood up, letting her hand go to place both of his on her face. "She forgets she deserves the world for just being herself." Carol felt tears start to develop, and she tried to look away, but could not. "You are my life, now. I could not believe after I hid away in my own self-pity that you would find me, and save me from myself. You came when I needed you the most, and I cannot thank you enough for that. No power can give me that. Only you can."

"Thor..." Carol did not know what to say. "I could say the same thing about you. All my life, of what I could remember, people always questioned me, and tried to control me, but then you came along...and you're not like everyone else...you let me just be."

"That's all I want. I just want you to be happy."

"Even though I'm just a hu-"

"I wouldn't have you any other way."


	24. Chapter 24

Cooper and Lila Barton could not wait for their father to put the truck into park before they struggled to get out of their carseats and leap out of the door.

"Hey! Slow down!" Natasha called after them.

They ignored her, of course.

"Let them blow off some steam, then once they're inside, it'll be nap time." Clint yawned. "I hate driving."

"You're were one of SHIELD's best pilots."

"Yeah, but I feel so confined in a car, I just..."

Natasha ignored the rest of the rant, and watched her children tackle the God of Thunder to the ground.

"Who in the Nine Realms are you? You cannot possibly be the Mighty Cooper and the Adorable Lady Lila. You are giants!" The children squealed with laughter as they piled onto their favorite uncle.

Tony frowned as he held their birthday present, watching in utter jealousy that he was still not the favorite. Well, that was about to change. He whistled for their attention, and the thing in his arms came to life. Tony threw his head back to avoid the slobber.

"Uncle Tony! Uncle Tony!" They chanted, running up to him, then stopped when they noticed what he was holding. "Is that a-"

"A really stinky mess." Tony squatted down as they plopped onto the grass, eyeing the creature in wonder. "Happy Birthday, kiddos..." He let the thing go in relief as it started to sniff and lick on the tiny hands reaching greedily for it.

"He's pretty!" Lila exclaimed.

"Is this for us?" Cooper hopefully asked.

"As long as it's ok with Mom and Dad." Tony popped up and went to interject the inevitable. "I know you don't need a third kid or anything, but this one has had all of its shots, can be potty-trained rather quickly, and doesn't require any formal education...just lots and lots of attention."

"Well, good thing I'm retired."

"Clint, you say that every week." Tony said.

Natasha noticed how sweet it was to see her children playing with the puppy, and laughed when Thor threw a stick so far, the poor thing had no idea what to do so he just rolled onto his back.

"Thank-you, Tony." She said. "You didn't have to-"

"You know you are talking to the _king_ of spoiling people, especially the small ones. It's too easy, and so much fun. Who wants fried chicken?!"

The kids chanted over each other as the puppy chased them inside to meet everyone else.

* * *

Scott looked over to the passenger side of the minivan to see Wanda Maximoff gnawing her finger off. Cassie could not contain her excitement to meeting new friends. Especially when said friends helped her Daddy save the world.

"Hey, Peanut, you and Hope go on in, we'll catch up in a sec."

"Ok, Daddy!"

"You ok?"

Wanda smiled. "Everybody keeps asking me that...ever since I woke back up." She turned to look out the window at Cassie waving at Peter, who plopped down to introduce himself. "I'm not..." She shook her head. Losing Vision felt like it was only yesterday. It was going to take a while. "...but I will be..."

Scott raised his fist to her, which she bumped with a small laugh. "That's the spirit."

* * *

Peter took Cassie and ran up and down the hallways, checking every room on every floor to get everyone to the living room.

"There are so many people here!"

"And there are more to come..." Peter realized as he was certain he cleared everyone that lived here...the others [who came back with him] should be showing up any minute. He wondered if it would be inappropriate to ask Doctor Strange to just portal everyone here.

It would make for a really epic entrance.

"Awwww...there's kids...AND A PUPPY!" Peter laughed to himself as he could probably guess Cassie was not that much older than the two Barton kids, but he was happy to see that they all immediately hit it off. He leaned against the wall, letting out a breath.

"She's quite the talker, isn't she?" Scott raised a knowing eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah, it's great, I just...I don't know, I guess I'm still tired because I could not keep up..."

"Yep, that's my peanut. Gives the Energizer Bunny a run for his money." Scott shook his head as he watched his little girl play with the dog. _Please don't ask for a dog. Please don't ask for a dog. Your mom would literally kill me._

" _Attention all, Mr. Stark would like to inform you that lunch is now served, if you would calmly-_ " The rest of FRIDAY's announcement could not be heard, as the swarm of Avengers flew to the kitchen.

Thor, Peter, Steve, and Bucky all got there first, much to Tony's dismay. Now he had _four_ super-hungry enhanced individuals to worry about...at least Carol was a lady and-

"Really?" Tony wide-eyed Carol's plate overflowing with chicken squeezed around a mountain of mashed potatoes.

"Are you _insinuating_ something?" Carol gave him a look, which he immediately regretted even asking.

"Oh, hey, Strange! Yeah, where's Wong?" Tony acted distracted as Carol shook her head, then went to find Thor, who had saved her a seat.

The dining room was barely enough room for everyone. Some, like Bruce and Wong, offered to eat standing up. Tony realized in horror that pizza night was a lot less chaotic than "reunions" with the entire freaking class in full attendance. Well, minus T'Challa. He understandably stayed back to Wakanda to spend some quality time with his family. But he promised to come for Christmas.

"Jesus Christ..." Tony swore this was it for him. _How the hell am I supposed to house and feed everyone for Christmas?_

"Tony..." Tony went blind for a second, he rolled his eyes so hard.

"I was blessing my food...Amen!" He kissed his husband.

Steve took his napkin and wiped off some gravy stuck in Tony's beard. "You're a handful."

"And you love to stay busy..."

As everyone was just about into their greetings and conversations with each other, Tony pulled his phone out and played a blow horn to quiet them all down.

"That's not how it's supposed to be done. I thought it was supposed to be beautiful chimes."

"That's the old way, Point Break." Tony confused the Asgardian. "Listen, I know this isn't a formal or anything, but...it's a reunion. A special one, with more reasons than I have time to go over before the chicken gets cold. It would still be good though." They all laughed. "There are some of you here that I have not seen or spoken to in a couple years...and, I know it's still kinda painful. But I'm willing to get back to where we were before all of that. I was an idiot...let's face it, we all were. That's neither here, nor there, the point is: if it wasn't for each of you, we would not have won. Now, some of you were just dozing off in dreamland, but you were the reason we did not give up. You forced us to get back out there after we were embarrassingly beat down over and over again. I'll admit, we had more than our own fair share of pity parties. Lots of tears, lots of heart-to-hearts, Pepper, you would have loved it, we got all of that toxic energy out of our system, and it helped." Pepper shook her head, whispering something to Rhodey, who just laughed. "Ok, I'm rambling and we're all hungry, so I'll cut to the chase. To us, Earth's Mightiest Heroes." They all raised their glasses. "The greatest kickass team in the universe."

Everyone cheered and hugged each other as they continued on socializing and laughing in community.


	25. Chapter 25

The world was at peace again. As "balance" was reversed, fully restored, all seemed right again.

Families were reunited. Streets were cleaner. People were happier.

Thanos sighed as he turned away from the vision he was allowed to see from Hela, the Goddess of Death.

"Are you not grateful to see the land of the living one last time? That which I have so graciously given you?" She asked in a pressing, deadly way.

Thanos admired her poise, her power...moreso than he would like to admit.

"I thank you for allowing me one last look. However, I just have this feeling that you will be...overwhelmed sooner than you think."

"You still believe in your philosophy?"

"I wish I was wrong." Thanos looked back one more time, growling at the Avengers all gathered watching something in their living space...together.

_They do not deserve happiness, after all they had done._

"I think it's time you show me more respect, Titan."

Thanos bowed his head in agreement. "Yes, my lady..."

* * *

_**SIX MONTHS LATER** _

The Avengers continued to operate around the world, however, they still had their full-blown holiday get-togethers and celebrations.

The Tower still housed Tony, Steve, Peter, Thor, Carol, and Bruce, while everyone else came to and from the guests rooms from time to time. Clint and Natasha took some well-deserved time off for the most part to spend with their children.

Nobody bothered them except for casual conversations.

Peter got home from school one day to find a new suit upgrade for him ready to try on. He loved days like this where he could spend quality time with his Dad. His Pops, even though he could not understand hardly anything, took the time to sketch their special moments, which he absolutely adored.

Bruce had FRIDAY make an announcement that he was cooking tonight, which excited Peter to no end, because he loved trying the "far out" kinds of food one cannot usually find at the local grocery store. Maybe someday, he could be as cool of a chef as Uncle Bruce.

After the fun demonstration of his suit in the gym, Carol and Thor offered to spar with him, which he could never resist. Tony urged him to be careful, followed by Steve reiterating the message till Peter's ears were bleeding. Carol assured them that she could control the boys to keep things safe.

"That is awesome!" Peter gaped at Carol after she successfully somersaulted off the end of the rope course. "I'm going to go shower up, do y'all wanna watch another episode of Star Wars? They have new ones now."

"Of course, my Spiderling!" Thor loved those movies. Carol was just excited there were more than just three.

She waited until Peter had left before she attacked Thor from behind. They collapsed on the mat in a fit of laughter, rolling around each other playfully. He allowed her to pin him to the ground, her eyes piercing the small space between them.

"Thank-you..."

"For what, my love?"

"For _this_...all of it." She kissed him.

Thor sat up and pulled her closer. It had been so long since he had been truly happy without a care in the world. Yes, he still missed his family desperately, but his adopted family was just as close to his heart now.

"Of course...you know I would do anything for your happiness."

Peter "forgot" to get his phone, as he did not like interrupting nor being around mushy moments. It seemed everybody had found someone, as a friend or more, and that just made him so happy. After all they had been through these past few years, he was so glad they were able to all make up and become a family again.

And now it was bigger than ever.

"Hey Wanda! We're about to watch Star Wars! Wanna join?"

Wanda looked up from her book, and gave a genuine smile. "I'll get the popcorn."

Peter gave her a thumbs up as he made his way to the living room.

* * *

That night, Steve woke up shaking. He jolted upright, scared to death it had happened again. He touched his arms, his face, his chest...he was still ok. It was just a nightmare.

"Steve?" He looked down to see Tony looking up at him with worry. "You're all right. I'm right here." He scooted up to where their shoulders were touching. Grabbing Steve's hand, he slowly moved it to the arc reactor, the warm hum comforting to him, just like Peter. He guesses it was the reassurance of something cemented into reality that helped with the emotional turmoil fictional visions while unconscious tended to produce.

Steve's hand was still shaking, but the warmth helped. "Tony..." He teared up, and it was never easy for Tony to deal with. "I'm so sorry..."

"For what, babe?" Tony frowned in confusion.

"Everything...our first meeting, Ultron, Bucky, the Accords..."

"Ok, ok, slow down. Haven't we done enough of that? Besides, I have you beat on my list of things I'm sorry for." That did not get a laugh or even a smile like he wanted. "Hey, we're fine. Don't you worry your pretty little head about those things anymore. I just want to focus on the future...like, next month is our anniversary, and I was thinking we could go to this little island that's only been visited by like the creme de la creme of the world, and I want-"

"Slow down, Tony." Steve smiled through his tears. "I'm still trying to recover from all of this."

"I know you are, and you're doing amazing...you're _so strong_ , Steve...so strong. I want to be there for you like you are for me. Remember what I told you? You don't have to always be on, the big bad soldier-boss who can do anything. I'm an expert in that particular field." They both laughed, then Tony got serious. "Please, don't be so hard on yourself. Stress does not look good on you, and that's saying something because you look hot in anything I throw on you."

"Tony..." Steve blushed. He shook his head. "I'm just...I'm tired. I'm still weak from that, um...flashback. We've all been so down, and before that...well, you know..."

"How about we take an extended vacation? Not a bucket list challenge...just a relaxing one, where we just do nothing but lounge around while people wine and dine us day in and day out?"

"I get more than enough of that here already. You've spoiled us since our first night we all moved in."

"Yeah, well, what can I say, I'm the best when it comes to fun." Tony smiled.

"You really are that." Steve kissed him.

Tony kissed him back, this time taking the initiative to bring Steve into his chest so he could forget about the bad dreams and focus on the here and now with him. With him, where he was safe. With him, where he could hide away from it all where he could find peace and quiet in their own little world.


	26. Chapter 26

Steve smiled as he heard his husband groan in despair as the coffee mug was taken from him. He enveloped him into a lazy hug, not a care in the world for the chaos that was unfolding around him called breakfast.

"There's no place like home..." He mumbled into the shorter man's ear.

Tony shivered. "I need some Cheerio's to lower my cholesterol, because, babe, that was so cheesy I'm going to fall over."

"I'm going to school now!" Peter hugged and gave high fives to everyone as he ran out the door, Wanda tossing him his lunch. "Yes! You're the best big sis ever! Bye everyone!"

Wanda put her hand over her mouth and started crying.

"What's wrong?" Bruce consoled her.

"I'm fine...I'm sorry, it's just..." Peter had become another important boy in her life, and she could not be more thankful. "He's the sweetest little brother..."

"I'm happy for you...you and Peter are like two peas in a pod." Bruce said.

"Which equals catastrophe, mark my words." Tony mockingly warned. "Who knows what they can get into around here."

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Steve teased.

"Ok, I am so proud of you for understanding sayings and references, but let's try to keep it to a minimum, yeah?"

"ANOTHER!" Thor was caught in the moment and slammed his favorite coffee cup to pieces on the ground and screamed in agony. "What have I done?"

Carol patted him on the shoulder as she laughed so hard she almost fell over.

Wanda used her magic to pick up all of the pieces and Thor's sad puppy eyes stared at them.

"Is there a way you could...uh?"

"I'm not sure...I've only ripped things apart, but..." Wanda concentrated, biting her lip and frowning as everyone fell silent and watched in awe at the spectacle of dancing pieces of glass come together again. She squeezed her hands together, mentally pressing all to a solid cup form. There were barely traces of markings to show the cuts.

"FRIDAY, did you get that?"

" _I get everything, Boss_."

"Peter is going to lose it when he sees this." Tony shook his head in wonder.

Wanda curtsied to her audience. "I aim to please."

Thor applauded and boomed his many thanks and blessed this coffee mug once more, like he did the day Tony got it for him.

Just a typical day in the life of the Avengers.

* * *

That Saturday was the one-year anniversary of The Decimation.

Dinner was a little fancier, and hugs were a little longer that day as people remembered what had happened. Memorials sprouted up all over the world, and probably the galaxy, honoring the Avengers and especially Carol Danvers, the individual who brought them all back. Carol was completely against the idea of being singled out in press conferences, interviews, documentaries, and memorials, as she was just doing what she thought was right. But every other Avenger agreed that she deserved this.

"I don't deserve this." Carol lowered her coffee mug some time after, looking out at the sun setting on the horizon.

"Yes, you do. We've all been over this." Thor grabbed her hands with his. "You brought half of the universe back to life. You made the choice. You helped us succeed, even before that moment. You saved Scott in that tiny realm. You saved me from myself. I've told you..."

"I'm just doing my job." She shook her head. "Happy I could help."

Thor gave up the argument for the time being, just to have yet another moment with her.

"Why are you so good to me?" She asked again.

"Because I love you."

"I love you too, more than anything."

* * *

Natasha and Clint could not wait to pick their children up from school. Clint had to do everything in his power to keep Natasha from sneaking in and just wait at home like most parents.

But he could not blame her, after all they had been through. It was hard enough being parents when duty calls every other day. Clint's sister had so many videos so they did not miss a thing in their lives, however, _now_ , they could finally experience these things without too much interruption. They hoped the next disaster would be after they graduated college, but that was just wishful thinking.

"Clint."

The archer looked over, lowering his sunglasses.

The ex-assassin smiled. So sentimental, she had become. She tilted her head over to his shoulder, resting right where she wanted to be as she waited for her little darlings to come back to her again.

"You too." Clint hugged her and kissed her red hair.

* * *

"Don't be gone long! Peter's going to miss you terribly." Tony called out after giving Bruce twelve different reasons why he should not leave and go to India.

"And you _won't?_ I'm hurt, Tony. I thought you were my friend." Bruce grinned as he placed his hand over his heart jokingly.

"Friends don't leave each other!"

" _I'll miss you too!_ " The door shut and Tony huffed in annoyance.

"If I'm so rich and have everything, then _why_ does everyone still insist on working?"

"Because they would go crazy from never getting out for some fresh air." Steve leaned against the door, arms crossed, laughing.

"Damn, did I say all of that out loud? I must be losing it."

"You already did by the time I met you, so it's not my fault."

"No, cause you're perfect."

"I thought you were?"

Tony smiled, barely able to go on. _I'm so proud of his sass_. "You bet, I am." He fell back onto the couch, allowing Steve to hover on top. _I am the luckiest man in the world._

They kissed and kissed and suddenly Steve pulled back and Tony did not appreciate that at all.

Those big, innocent eyes stared at him. "Tony...I love you so much..."

"I love you, Steve..." He got all emotional again, and sniffed it away. "Promise me..."

"Anything..." Steve already promised.

Tony laughed, trying to keep it together. "No matter what happens, Accords, robots, aliens, the insurance company...we'll always be together...like you said..."

Steve blinked back tears. _I will never do that to you again, I promise_. He got up and got down on his knees, looking up to Tony, his husband, hopefully. "Tony. I will _never_ leave you or Peter ever again. I swear to you on my life. Because I learned the hard way that I cannot live without you. You saved me from myself, and I know I do the same for you. Through thick and thin...I'm always going to be right here for you. You will never have to wonder where to find me." Steve choked out. "But only if you promise to do the same..."

Tony moved down onto the ground, where he was closer to eye level. "Steve. Everything I do, I do for you, and for Peter. You will always come first, and I gotta tell you, I'm going to screw up again, I'm going to make you angry, and we're going to fight..." He pushed back the horrible memories. "But I will not let that get in the way of my love for you. You are stuck with me forever..."

" _Hey Dad! Hey Pops!_ "

"Hey son!" Steve hugged Peter tight, Tony joining in.

"How was school?"

"Boring as usual, Dad."

"That's why I'm the best teacher, with FRIDAY as an excellent substitute."

" _You flatter me, Boss_."

"We missed you, today." Tony ruffled Peter's hair.

Peter looked between his dads in confusion. "I was only gone, like eight hours..."

"Sorry, my age makes me very clingy." Steve joked.

"You're not as bad as Dad, though." Peter threw his thumb in Tony's direction, who took mock offense.

"That's it, you're grounded! Punishment is doing patrols with your old man."

"Seriously?" Peter whooped. "Thanks, Dad! I miss it so much! I can't wait! When are we going?"

"Not till tonight, ok. I just thought first, we could have some family time."

"Can we play hide and seek?" Peter begged.

Steve and Tony looked at each other, then Tony started counting.

* * *

Stephen stared out the window of the New York sanctum, taking a look back on this short time since his revival. A lot has changed. The universe is having growing pains after two shocking occurrences happening almost one after the other. But life always bounces back.

He graciously accepted a cup of tea from Wong as they silently admired the peaceful universe before them.

All was right for now, after being shrouded in darkness for so long.

"Everything is as it should be." Wong announced.

"Indeed, it is." Stephen smiled to himself, happy and content with how things turned out. It was nowhere near perfect, he noticed as he looked down to his scarred hands. Funny how things seem to fall into place and work out for the better.

For the first time in a long time, Stephen was thankful for his hands.

And they were all thankful they found each other again so the universe could finally rest for a moment. A moment where no one was lost, everyone had a home, and there was always hope for a future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my adoring readers! MegaFrost4, here, and I just wanted to thank you all so much for reading this fic, and for sticking with me this past year or so (I started this in December 2018...between seeing Infinity War and Endgame!). This is my longest completed fic to date, and there were so many times where I felt the length. I hope it did not drag too much for you. I wanted most of it to be a slow burn, and I thought it was kinda neat that Endgame started out that way, but after something so devastating like The Decimation, you needed to take to time to feel with these characters we all love so much. So, yeah, and I wanted to do an Endgame that did NOT rely on time travel...especially the MCU version, ugh. I love Doctor Who, it's one of my favorite TV shows, and time travel can be a cool thing, but for something this grand and epic as ENDGAME...well, I wanted to do something different. I wanted to give them a real fighting chance.
> 
> A lot of heart and soul went into this story. Like I said, I drug out that beginning mourning phase of everyone coming together, not only after the humiliating defeat of Thanos after gathering the stones, but Civil War as well. That movie caused so many devastating consequences. I saw a post about what those actually were, as people claimed Civil War didn't leave any impact because no one died like in the graphic novel. But here we are...the Avengers are broke up, Thanos comes, and WINS. Anyways, I'm rambling. I wanted to break down walls and show emotions like the movies did sometimes, or rather just hinted at. I wanted this to be a sad story...a heartbreaking one. My favorite fics I read on here are the ones that actually make me cry. And I tell the author honestly if that happens.
> 
> That is a goal of mine: I want you to like my stories, or at least a part of them in some way. I want you to laugh, be shocked, be curious, go aawwwwww, cry, scream at me NO HOW COULD YOU through reviews. Trust me, my reviews can be pretty intense sometimes. I know I don't have those big numbers like a lot of these INCREDIBLE TRULY TALENTED authors have, but that is not why I write. I write because I love it, and I write because my mind goes 24/7 coming up with new ideas [seriously, I have a journal FILLED FROM COVER TO COVER WITH IDEAS...LIKE, I'M GOING TO HAVE TO START ANOTHER ONE SOON]
> 
> The Avengers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is my absolute favorite groups of characters. Yes, there's Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, and other trilogies, but this one is my absolute favorite. I still cry at the meer mention of that Endgame moment. I still cry when Stephen Strange wakes up devastated about his hands, no longer able to do his passion of being a doctor. I still cry when Thor and Loki have their moments. I still cry when Tony and Steve fallout at the end of Civil War. I still cry throughout Infinity War and Endgame [literally, so much emotion in these two movies it's insane]. These characters...these stories...they're important to me. I could write a volume of books for each character and how I honest to goodness relate to them in more ways than one. Sometimes, I'm Steve to a "t"...then turn around, and I am literally the incarnation of Tony. And maybe that's why I love them so much...because they are me, in a way.
> 
> Like I said earlier, I love writing, and I gave my all into this story. This is my first BIG ONE. Seriously, longest story I have ever written! [KUDOS TO THOSE WHO WRITE 100K+ FICS. Y'ALL ARE ROCKSTARS, AND I WANT TO PRINT OUT YOUR STORIES AND MAKE THEM INTO BOOKS THEY'RE SO ENJOYABLE. LET'S BE HONEST, EVEN THE 20K ONES ARE MASTERPIECES TOO. Y'ALL ARE SO INSPIRING!] I only want to push myself further as a writer. I want to get better with each fic I come out with. I want to keep reading because there are so many out here on this site! I literally have a notebook full of ones I read and ones I want to read. I read fics as much as I read published books.  
> On to the next adventure!  
> Love,  
> MegaFrost4


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